India’s equity benchmarks are likely to open little changed on Thursday, mirroring the flat trade in Asian markets, as market anxiety lingered over the uncertain tenure of Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell.
The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 25,281 points as of 7:46 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 will open near Wednesday’s close of 25,212.05.
MSCI’s broadest index for Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan traded flat, while the US dollar and Treasury yields fell after Trump said he was “highly unlikely” to fire Powell.
Analysts do not expect any sharp swings in the market until details emerge on a potential India-US trade agreement, after Trump said the two countries are “very close” to a deal.
Meanwhile, investors will monitor fund flows after foreign portfolio investors offloaded Indian shares worth 18.58 billion rupees ($216.4 million) on Wednesday, marking their fourth consecutive day of selling in the secondary market, provisional data showed.
Stock-specific action is likely to continue amid the ongoing earnings season.
Axis Bank, Wipro and Jio Financial Services are scheduled to detail their earnings on the day.