Indian Shares Likely To Open On Mixed Note

SGX Nifty futures point to a mixed start for the Indian stock market Wednesday morning. The overnight subdued close on Wall Street, and a mixed trend in Asian markets this morning too indicate a lackluster start.

The focus will be on the upcoming monetary policy announcement from the Federal Reserve, due later in the day. The Fed is widely expected to hold rates unchanged. Markets are looking ahead to the central bank’s outlook on interest rates, growth, and asset-buying program.

Activity is likely to be a bit stock specific with corporate news setting the trend.

IT major Infosys announced a collaboration with digital workflow company ServiceNow to provide enterprise-level service management for customers in manufacturing industries.

Tata Power has reportedly restarted fund-raising efforts for its renewables business, and is said to be looking to raise up to Rs 5,500 crore for its subsidary Tata Power Renewables Energy Limited.

KEC International Limited announced it has bagged orders worth Rs 1,157 crore across various business segments, including for projects in the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

Nucleus Software announced that its board will consider buyback of shares on Friday.

Despite swinging between gains and losses till about an hour past noon, Indian shares climbed higher and ended on a buoyant note on Tuesday. The The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex, which dropped to 58,232.54 at one stage, ended the day with a gain of 514.34 points or 0.88 percent at 59,005.27.

The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty index, which drifted down to 17,326.10 around late morning, settled with a gain of 165.10 points or 0.95 percent at 17,562.00.

The major U.S. averages closed mixed on Tuesday after bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement.

While the Nasdaq rose 32.50 points or 0.2 percent to 14,746.40, the Dow dipped 50.63 points or 0.2 percent to 33,919.84 and the S&P 500 edged down 3.54 points or 0.1 percent to 4,354.19. The Dow ended the session at its lowest closing level in three months.

European stocks closed on a strong note on Tuesday as investors shrugged off concerns about Evergrande’s woes and indulged in some bargain hunting as they looked ahead to the monetary policy announcements from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.