India’s Nifty 50 to open higher, but foreign outflows could cap gains

India’s benchmark Nifty 50 is likely to open higher on Wednesday after four sessions of losses, although worries over foreign fund outflows could cap the advance.

The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 26,116 points, as of 7:40 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 would open above Tuesday’s close of 25,938.85.

The benchmark 50-stock index has declined about 1% in the last four sessions on persistent foreign selling in light year-end trading volumes.

“With most global markets either shut or operating in shortened sessions for New Year’s Eve, intraday volatility is expected to remain compressed (on Wednesday),” said Ponmudi R, chief executive officer of Enrich Money.

Foreign investors net sold Indian shares worth 38.44 billion rupees ($428.31 million) on Tuesday, according to provisional data. They have offloaded shares worth $18.5 billion in 2025 in a record year for outflows.

This has led to a rare underperformance from Indian equities against emerging and Asian market peers in 2025, which analysts expect to reverse in 2026 as earnings growth picks up.

The Nifty 50 has risen 9.7% this year in what would be its 10th straight annual gain.

Analysts expect the upcoming quarterly earnings season to be a key driver for equities in the near term.