Indian shares poised for muted start, TCS kicks off earnings season

Indian shares were likely to open slightly lower on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session after the central bank delivered a hawkish rate hike, while rising oil prices added to inflation worries. Investors will also watch Tata Consultancy Services, India’s biggest software exporter, as it starts the September-quarter earnings season for large companies. GIFT Nifty futures were at 22, 600. 5, as of 7: 47 a. m. IST, indicating a weaker start for the benchmark Nifty 50 index, which closed at 22, 603. 05 on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India raised its benchmark repo rate by ⁠25 basis points to 5. 5% on Wednesday, marking the first rise in nearly four years amid mounting inflation and strong economic growth. The central bank also signalled possibility of more rate hikes by changing its stance from “neutral” to “calibrated tightening”, as higher oil prices linked to the Iran war fuel inflation, erode purchasing power and pressure currencies. “The key overhang is no longer the RBI’s rate increase alone, but the growing prospect of tighter domestic and global monetary conditions persisting for longer, potentially keeping pressure on risk appetite and ⁠foreign flows, ” said Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, founder and CEO of HST Wealth. Brent crude jumped 1. 2% to above $101 a barrel on persistent worries about Middle East supplies amid increased attacks on shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Asian shares were down 0. 3% as strains in sovereign ⁠bond markets were aggravated by reports some major tech companies were seeking to raise billions in debt in direct competition for limited funding. Meanwhile, foreign investors offloaded Indian shares worth 61. 21 billion rupees ($632. 60 ⁠million) on Wednesday, marking their ninth consecutive session of selling, provisional data showed.

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