Indian shares to open up,resistance seen

Energy giant Reliance Industries and state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp will be watched as oil prices were steady above $68 on Thursday,after settling unchanged a day earlier.

Non-ferrous metals producer Sterlite Industries will be on the radar after Shanghai copper prices rose almost 1 per cent on Thursday while London futures drifted lower as prices stabilised after falls this week.

Investors will be awaiting weekly data on monsoon rains — shaping up to be the worst in four decades — and reservoir levels.

India warned on Tuesday that wholesale price inflation could end the fiscal year above the central bank’s forecast of 5 per cent as a poor monsoon drives up food costs,adding to a chorus of warnings on prices.

The wholesale price index is forecast to have fallen 0.87 per cent in the year to August 22,smaller than the previous week’s annual decline of 0.95 per cent,a Reuters poll of 13 economists showed on Wednesday. The data is due at around 0630 GMT. Most Asian markets were higher,with MSCI’s measure of Asian markets other than Japan up 0.7 per cent by 0405 GMT. Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.4 per cent.

Nifty India stock index futures traded in Singapore were up 0.3 per cent,pointing to a higher opening in India.

On Wednesday,the 30-share BSE index ended down 0.54 per cent,or 83.73 points,at 15,467.46 points,its worst close since August 21.