Nifty Seen Opening Above 17,500 Ahead Of RBI's Monetary Policy Decision

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open higher as indicated by the Nifty futures traded on Singapore Exchange ahead of Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision due later in the day. The Nifty futures on Singapore Exchange also known as SGX Nifty futures rose 28 points or 0.16 per cent to 17,512 indicating a start above 17,500 for the Nifty 50 index.

Meanwhile, most of the Asian stock markets were trading lower with Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.33 per cent, Singapore Straits Times down 0.35 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI down 0.1 per cent.

Overnight, world stocks rallied on Wednesday, with Wall Street rising again on a Big Tech boost and European shares gaining on strong earnings as investors put aside worries about rising interest rates for now, news agency Reuters reported.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.86 per cent to end at 35,768.06 points, while the S&P 500 gained 1.45 per cent to 4,587.18. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.08 per cent to 14,490.37.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 1.7 per cent with automakers leading gains with a 4.0 per cent jump.

Back home, all eyes will be on RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das' monetary policy speech that will begin at 10:00 am. The RBI Governor's speech assumes significance in the backdrop of rising interest rates globally and Union Budget which was presented on Feb. 1.

The Reserve Bank of India is likely to keep interest rates at record lows on the back of relatively low inflation amid a global surge, according a poll by news agency Reuters. Respondents in a Feb. 2-4 Reuters poll were closely split on the timing of the next rise, with slightly more than half, 17 of 32, expecting 25 basis point rise to 4.25 per cent in April.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors continue to sell shares in Indian markets. FIIs sold shares worth Rs 893 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 1,793 crore.