By Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks edged up in early trade on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision, while asset managers fell after regulators proposed reducing exit loads for investors.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.14% to 25,971.6 and the BSE Sensex gained 0.05% to 84,671.11 as of 9:51 a.m. IST, with 10 of 16 major sectors advancing.
Mid-and small-cap indexes were little changed.
Most Asian markets advanced on Wednesday, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.6% amid renewed optimism over artificial intelligence. [MKTS/GLOB]
Investor focus turns to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision later in the day, with markets pricing in a 99.9% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.
“While the Fed is expected to cut rates by a quarter point, traders will scrutinise the accompanying statement and Chair Jerome Powell’s comments for signals about future cuts,” said Devarsh Vakil, head of prime research at HDFC Securities.
Lower U.S. rates typically make emerging markets like India more attractive to foreign investors.
Overseas investors bought Indian shares worth 103.4 billion rupees ($1.18 billion) on Tuesday, provisional data showed, marking their biggest single-day purchase in months.
Vakil said that a decisive move outside 25,700-26,100 points is crucial for the benchmark Nifty to get out of the ongoing consolidation.
HDFC Asset Management Company and Nippon Life India Asset Management dropped about 4.5% each, among top five losers on Nifty 500.
India’s markets regulator on Tuesday proposed measures to simplify mutual fund fee structure, including a plan to discontinue 5 basis points charge that mutual funds posed on equity funds where exit load is levied.
Blue Dart Express jumped 10.7% after posting a 29.5% rise in September-quarter profit.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
