India stock benchmarks to open flat ahead of tax council meeting

India’s equity benchmarks are likely to open little changed on Wednesday, as investors remain on the sidelines ahead of the meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which is expected to cut rates on a range of goods.

Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,635 points as of 07:40 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 will open around Tuesday’s close of 24,579.6.

Meanwhile, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan were up 0.1%.

Wall Street began the month sharply lower, while Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.5%, with financials leading declines.

Investors back home will be closely monitoring the tax council’s meeting, with the panel expected to lower taxes on several goods and lend a consumption boost to the economy.

A GST rate cut could be a game-changer for consumption-led sectors, Hariprasad K, analyst and founder at Livelong Wealth, said, highlighting the rally in the fast-moving consumer goods stocks in the last three sessions on expectations of lower tax burdens and improved pricing power.

Meanwhile, foreign investors sold Indian shares worth 11.59 billion rupees ($131.6 million), per provisional data, marking their sixth consecutive session of selling in the secondary market.