Indian shares set to open higher as US treasury yields ease

BENGALURU, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Indias blue-chips are set to open higher on Friday after logging losses over the last six sessions as U.S. treasury yields retreated following weaker-than-expected inflation data.

Indias GIFT Nifty was up 0.42% at 18,991.50 as of 8:11 a.m. IST, more than 100 points above the Nifty 50s (.NSEI) Thursday close of 18,857.25.

The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) and Sensex (.BSESN) have lost nearly 5% each over the last six sessions, settling at near four-month lows on Thursday.

So far this week, the Nifty is down 3.51%, on course for the worst week in 16 months.

Meanwhile, Asian markets rose on Friday, with the MSCI Asia ex Japan index (.MIAPJ0000PUS) adding 0.8%.

Wall Street equities closed lower overnight on mixed economic data and weak earnings.

While an advance estimate of the third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) showed that the U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in nearly two years, business investment softened.

However, U.S. treasury yields, which rallied to 16-year highs earlier in the week on expectations of higher-for-longer rates by the Federal Reserve, eased on data showing cooling inflation.

Core personal consumption expenditure, the Feds preferred inflation gauge, came in at 2.4%, its lowest since the fourth quarter of 2020.

Brent crude futures hovered around $88.50 per barrel, after sliding in the previous session.

Crude prices have been volatile, since the Israel-Hamas clashes began. Brent Crude rose from $84.50 on Oct. 6 to $93 per barrel on October 20, before easing over the last week.

The rise in oil prices is negative for importers of the commodity, like India.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold 77.03 billion rupees ($925.57 million) worth of shares on a net basis on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought a net 65.58 billion rupees of shares.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

** Major Earnings: Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), Cipla (CIPL.NS), Dr Reddys Laboratories (REDY.NS), Maruti Suzuki India (MRTI.NS), SBI Life Insurance (SBIL.NS), Bajaj Finserv (BJFS.NS).

** Colgate-Palmolive India (COLG.NS): Oral care company posts rise in September-quarter profit, aided by steady demand and pricing.

** Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC (ADIE.NS): Co reports fall in second-quarter consolidated net profit.

** Vodafone Idea (VODA.NS): Telecom operator posts wider-than-expected loss in September quarter as user base shrinks.

($1 = 83.2240 Indian rupees)

Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.