Indian shares seen flat as investors assess Iran-US pause, earnings ahead of Fed
- GIFT Nifty futures were at 23,962
Indian shares are set to open flat on Tuesday, after snapping a five-session losing run in the previous session on a slide in crude oil prices, as investors weigh a pause in the Middle East strikes ahead of the crucial U.S. Federal Reserve rate decision.
GIFT Nifty futures were at 23,962 as of 8:04 a.m. IST, indicating the benchmark Nifty 50 could open near Monday’s close of 23,995.95.
Brent crude fell 0.9% to about $87.6 a barrel, after dropping 8.7% in the previous session. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Washington was having “good talks” with Iran and that there was a chance of resolution.
Trump, however, said U.S. strikes would resume if negotiations failed, while Iran issued similar comments about retaliation, keeping geopolitical risks intact.
The volatility in crude prices could influence the Fed’s inflation assessment in its rate decision and commentary due on Wednesday.
The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged, but expectations of a 25-basis-point hike have increased to 37.9% from 16% a week ago, according to theCME FedWatch tool.
Domestic benchmark indexes rose about 1% each on Monday, paring back some of last week’s losses of 2.3% and 2.7% in the Nifty 50 and Sensex, respectively.
Domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth 23.29 billion rupees ($242.86 million), while foreign institutional investor outflows stood at 16.88 billion rupees, according to provisional NSE data.
Quarterly earnings have also driven stock-specific moves over the past two weeks.
Bharat Electronics reported a rise in June quarter profit, with brokerages saying that strong execution offset its margin miss. Tata Power posted a rise in first-quarter profit, aided by higher operating earnings and growth in transmission and distribution.
Coal India its first-quarter profit view on weak volumes and higher costs, while airline operator IndiGo will also be in focus after appointing insider Kiran Thadimarri as chief financial officer, effective Tuesday.