Indian equity benchmarks set for muted start ahead of Fed meeting

India’s equity benchmarks are set for a muted start on Monday, in line with other Asian markets, ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week where it is widely expected to resume its easing cycle.

Separately, India’s retail inflation accelerated to 2.07% in August, but stayed well within the central bank’s tolerance band, leaving room for another interest rate cut this year.

Gift Nifty futures were trading at 25,170 points as of 08:05 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open around Friday’s close of 25,114.

Asian stocks got off to a quiet start ahead of an action-packed week that is seemingly certain to see the Fed cut interest rates, and perhaps leave the door wide open to a series of cuts.

Lower U.S. interest rates make emerging markets, such as India, attractive for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), as Treasury yields and dollar typically fall in such a scenario.

FPIs, who have been aggressive sellers in India this year, bought 1.30 billion rupees (about $15 million) worth of shares on Friday, as per provisional data, while domestic institutional investors remained buyers for the fourteenth consecutive session.