Indian shares set to open higher after steepest decline in two months

Nov 29 (Reuters) – Indian shares are expected to open slightly higher on Friday after their steepest drop in nearly two months in the previous session, as traders adjusted their positions on monthly derivatives expiry.
The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,157.5, as of 08:39 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open above Thursday’s close of 23,914.15.
India’s benchmark indexes fell about 1.5% each on Thursday, dragged down by profit booking in IT stocks after a rally and positional adjustments due to November derivatives contract expiry.
Foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded shares worth 117.56 billion rupees ($1.39 billion) in the last session in one of the largest sell-offs of Indian shares in 2024.
The sell-off is almost equivalent to their total purchase since becoming buyers on Monday, snapping a 38-session selling run.
“This is moving to be a stock-specific market, especially after the results and the recent market correction,” said Ankita Pathak, chief macro and global strategist at Ionic Wealth.
“While large-caps offer valuation comfort, especially in the private banks, quality is incrementally available at reasonable valuations in other segments of broader markets too.”
Investors are awaiting India’s growth data due later in the day after market hours.
India’s economy is expected to have slowed in the July-September quarter, weighed down by weak urban consumption following a rise in food prices, a Reuters poll of economists showed.
Asian markets eased, weighed by Japan’s inflation data and South Korea’s economic growth concerns.
U.S. equities were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Adani group companies will be in focus after eight bankers told Reuters that Indian lenders, including the top state-owned lender State Bank of India, are reviewing their exposure to the group.
** HDFC Life and SBI Life clarify on media report, saying there has been no regulatory discussions on bancassurance arrangements with the insurance regulator.
** Reliance Industries’ U.S. unit buys $12 million stake in helium explorer Wavetech Helium. ($1 = 84.4920 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)