Indian stocks are poised to open higher on Friday, following the US Federal Reserve’s widely anticipated decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,297.5, as of 08:04 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open above its Thursday’s close of 24,199.35.
Other Asian markets also rose, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index gaining 1%.
Wall Street equities hit record highs for the second session in a row overnight, while US Treasury yields dipped after the Fed’s rate cut. The Fed said the US economy was “in a a very good place” and inflation was easing towards the central bank’s target of 2%.
Lower rates in the US make emerging markets such as India more appealing to foreign investors, as they seek higher returns in regions with better growth prospects.
With US yields becoming less attractive, capital tends to flow into riskier but potentially more rewarding markets, boosting demand for assets in countries including India.
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India’s Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex have declined by approximately 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively, this week, and are down about 8% from their record highs reached on Sept. 27.
The pullback has been driven by persistent foreign outflows and weaker-than-expected corporate earnings, which have weighed on investor sentiment. Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers of Indian stocks for the 29th session in a row on Thursday, offloading stocks worth 48.89 billion rupees (about $580 million).
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