Indian stocks poised to open lower as US midterm vote outcome looms

Indian shares are expected to open lower on Wednesday, pulling back from four consecutive sessions of gains, as investors awaited the outcome of the US midterm election.

The outcome of the US midterm elections could have broad implications for the Middle East conflict and energy prices, the buildout of AI data centres, and the US fiscal outlook.

Those issues are closely watched by Indian investors, as higher energy prices and the market's limited exposure to AI-linked stocks have weighed on local equities this year.

GIFT Nifty futures were at 23,711 as of 7:51 a.m. IST, indicating a weaker start for the benchmark Nifty 50, which closed at 23,810.85 on Tuesday.

The Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex have risen about 5% over the past four sessions and closed at two-month highs on Tuesday, buoyed by strong corporate earnings, easing oil prices and early signs of revival in foreign investor inflows.

Foreign investors net bought Indian shares worth 68.37 billion rupees ($721.66 million) on Tuesday, per provisional data. They have been net buyers in five of the last six trading sessions.

Brent crude futures hovered around $103 per barrel on Wednesday, after hitting a nearly four-week low in the previous session as the market weighed talks to end the wars in Ukraine and Iran. [O/R]

Signs of possible easing in sustained foreign outflows, alongside easing energy prices and optimism surrounding potential tax-policy developments could help underpin domestic sentiment, said Ponmudi R, CEO of wealth tech platform Enrich Money.

Asian markets were down 0.7% and US stock futures dipped as investors focused on whether Democrats can wrest control of Congress from President Donald Trump's Republicans. [MKTS/GLOB]

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