Indian shares set to open higher after strong quarterly results from HDFC Bank, ICICI
- GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 24,469.50
Indian shares are poised to open higher on Monday, with upbeat earnings from top private lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank countering concerns over the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East.
GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 24,469.50 as of 7:57 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open above Friday’s close of 24,353.55.
The heaviest stocks in the benchmark indexes, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank reported higher-than-expected profit in the March quarter over the weekend, aided by strong loan growth.
Both the benchmarks Nifty 50 and Sensex rose 1.3% each last week, their second straight weekly gain.
However, fresh Middle East tensions could renew investor caution and temper sentiment despite good corporate earnings, two analysts said.
“While earnings of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are expected to provide some stability to the market, the global sentiment remains fragile as the Middle East tensions reintroduce concerns around supply disruptions and inflation,” said Hariprasad K, analyst and founder at Livelong Wealth.
Other Asian markets ose 0.6%, while Brent crude climbed to $97 a barrel as Middle East tensions kept shipping in and out of the Gulf to a bare minimum, though traders were holding out hope for a resolution.
The ceasefire in the Iran war, due to run until Tuesday, was in doubt after the US seized an Iranian cargo ship and Tehran’s top military command vowed to retaliate.
Iran has reimposed its de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz and rejected new peace talks with the U.S.
Foreign institutional investors (FII) remained buyers of domestic stocks for a third straight session on Friday, with inflows amounting to 6.83 billion rupees (about $74 million).
Domestic institutional investors (DII), in contrast, have been sellers in the last three sessions with outflows of 47.21 billion rupees on Friday.
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