BENGALURU: Indian blue-chip indexes are set to open higher on Thursday, tracking US peers, after fresh economic data added to optimism that the Federal Reserve was done raising interest rates.

India’s GIFT Nifty was up 0.03% at 19,895.50 as of 8:15 a.m. IST, above the benchmark Nifty 50’s Wednesday close of 19,811.85.

nomic data, including jobless claims, durables goods and consumer sentiment, showed that the US economy is softening due to the Fed’s policy tightening, but remains resilient enough to potentially avoid recession.

The market will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Asian markets opened flat on the day.

Brent crude prices fell to near $81 per barrel after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia delayed a ministerial meeting to Nov. 30 from Nov. 26, where they were expected to discuss oil output cuts.

A fall in crude oil prices is positive for importers of the commodity like India.

The Nifty 50 has jumped 1.89% since soft US inflation data on Nov. 14 elevated bets that the Fed will not hike rates further.

Information technology companies, which earn a significant share of the revenue from the US, led the gains, climbing 6.30% during the same period.

Indian shares rise as IT, pharma extend gains on soft US inflation data

“The overall sentiment remains positive as the Nifty 50 has held above the crucial support level of 19,500,” said Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities.

The resistance for the benchmark is positioned at 19,850 levels, De added.

The Nifty 50 has closed above 19,600 in every session since Nov. 14 but hasn’t breached the 19,900 level, in intraday trade.

Foreign institutional investors sold off Indian shares worth 3.07 billion rupees ($36.88 million) on Wednesday, on a net basis, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth 7.21 billion rupees.