Fed holds rates as oil near $115 keeps Indian stocks on the back foot
Indian equities are heading for a flat-to-soft open on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, with Brent crude near $115 a barrel keeping the pressure on a market that has fallen in six of its last seven sessions.
GIFT Nifty futures stood at 22,708 at 7:35 a.m. IST, barely above the Nifty 50's Wednesday close of 22,698.85 and pointing to a muted start. The Fed's decision to hold, and to wait for more inflation data before moving, keeps US Treasuries and the dollar attractive relative to emerging market equities, a headwind for Indian stocks among foreign portfolio investors.
Foreign investors bought Indian shares worth 8.72 billion rupees ($91.58 million) on Wednesday, provisional data showed, a second straight session of net buying. That has not undone the month's selling: FPIs have offloaded $3.74 billion of Indian equities so far in October.
Oil is the other weight. Brent hovered around $115 a barrel as traders weighed the risk that Middle East conflict could disrupt regional energy supplies. For India, the concern runs through inflation, interest rates and the rupee, which is why the benchmark's recent run of losses has coincided with crude's rise.
