Indian shares set for flat open ahead of inflation data, earnings

BENGALURU, July 12 (Reuters) - Indian shares are set to open little changed on Wednesday, with investors eyeing both domestic and U.S. inflation data for June as the quarterly results season kicks off.

Indias GIFT Nifty on the NSE International Exchange was down 0.01% at 19,535.50, as of 8:00 a.m. IST.

All eyes are on Indias inflation print, due after market hours on Wednesday. Retail inflation likely snapped a four-month decline in June due to rising food prices, a Reuters poll of economists showed.

Analysts expect the momentum in markets to continue and identified corporate earnings, monsoon trajectory and macroeconomic stability as major near-term triggers.

Information technology firms Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS) and HCLTech (HCLT.NS) are among the firms scheduled to report their quarterly earnings, post market hours on Wednesday.

Asian markets (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose over 0.5%, mirroring gains in Wall Street, ahead of the U.S. inflation data.

The U.S. consumer price index is expected to have risen by 3.1% in June, likely to be the lowest since March 2021, easing rate concerns.

The odds of a 25 basis-point rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve at its upcoming policy meeting on July 26 stood at 92.4%. However, moderation in inflation could steer the Fed closer towards ending its policy tightening cycle.

The domestic blue-chip indexes rose on Tuesday, led by a rise in auto and consumer stocks.

The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) came within 10 points of its record high levels on Tuesday. Both the benchmarks have risen nearly 12% so far in fiscal 2024. The broader markets have outperformed the bluechips, with smallcaps (.NIFSMCP100) jumping over 24% and midcaps (.NIFMDCP100) adding almost 21%.

Foreign institutional investors bought 11.97 billion rupees ($145.4 million) of Indian equities on a net basis on Tuesday, while domestic investors sold 72.5 million rupees of shares, as per provisional NSE data.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

** Delta Corp (DELT.NS), Nazara Technologies (NAZA.NS): GST council has imposed a 28% tax on the turnover on online gaming companies, horse racing and casinos.

** PVR-Inox (PVRL.NS): GST council agrees to reduce tax on food and beverages at cinema halls to 5% from 18% earlier.

** Sterlite Technologies (STTE.NS): Co partners with communications and softwar firm Windstream to enable fast fibre connectivity in the U.S.

** Plastiblends India (PLST.NS): Co reports fall in net profit in June quarter.

($1 = 82.3500 Indian rupees)