Sensex, Nifty likely to open lower on weak global cues 

India’s benchmark Nifty 50 index is set to open lower on Wednesday, tracking Asian peers after China’s quarterly growth missed expectations, while HDFC Bank will be in focus after it posted a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit.

India’s GIFT Nifty was trading at 21,826.50 as of 8:11 a.m. IST, suggesting the NSE Nifty 50 will open below its Tuesday close of 22,032.30.

Asian markets were lower, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index shedding 1.3% after China’s economic growth in December quarter missed expectations.

Wall Street equities also closed lower overnight after a key Federal Reserve official said that the U.S. central bank should not rush to lower rates, dampening expectations of early rate cuts.

Indian shares declined on Tuesday, dragged by a pullback in information technology stocks after a recent rally.

Shares of top private lender and the heaviest weighted stock in Nifty 50 index – HDFC Bank will be in focus after reporting a bigger-than-expected profit for the third quarter, post market hours on Tuesday.

The American-listed shares of the bank fell 6.71% overnight.

Investors also await the results of Nifty 50 companies like Asian Paints and LTIMindtree, due on Wednesday.

Foreign institutional investors bought Indian shares worth a net 6.57 billion rupees ($79.09 million) on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth 3.69 billion rupees.

STOCKS TO WATCH

L&T Technology Services: IT company retained its revenue growth forecast for fiscal 2024 after reporting rise in net profit and revenue in third quarter.

ICICI Securities: Company posted rise in consolidated net profit in September quarter.

PNC Infratech: Company received letter of award for a Madhya Pradesh construction project, worth 11.74 billion rupees.

Network18 Media & Investments: Company reported widening of consolidated net loss in December quarter.