BENGALURU: Indian shares are set to open higher on Thursday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy decision, where the central bank is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged for a sixth consecutive meeting.

India’s GIFT Nifty was trading at 22,047 as of 7:57 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 will open above Wednesday’s close of 21,930.50.

The RBI’s rate decision will be announced at 10:00 a.m. IST.

A Reuters poll of 60 economists in early February indicated that the RBI would keep its key repo rate unchanged at 6.50% on Thursday and maintain status quo until at least July.

Investors are also waiting to see if the moderation in core inflation and focus on fiscal prudence in the interim budget would enable policymakers to signal a turn in the rate cycle.

“We expect the MPC (monetary policy committee) to unanimously vote for a (rate) pause and policy guidance to shift away from the current tightening bias towards one that is more neutral,” analysts at Nomura.

More importantly, the RBI is likely to introduce measures to address the current frictional liquidity tightness in the economy, they added.

Indian shares erase gains as IT drags; central bank policy in focus

The pause in rate hikes this fiscal year, following a 250 basis points increase last fiscal, has propelled the benchmark Nifty 50 up 26.33% to fresh highs since the end of March 2023.

The RBI’s commentary on potential rate cuts will also be closely monitored, said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services. Asian markets opened higher.

Wall Street equities advanced overnight, with S&P 500 closing at a record high, supported by strong earnings.

Foreign institutional investors net sold Indian shares worth 16.91 billion rupees (around $204 million) on Wednesday, snapping a three-day buying streak.

Domestic institutional investors purchased 3.28 billion rupees of shares.