(Reuters) - Indian shares are set to open lower on Wednesday after a six-day rally to record highs, as investors wait for gross domestic product data and the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech due later in the day for clues on the path of interest rate hikes.
India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were down 0.09% at 18,741 as of 07:40 a.m IST.
Data due at 5:30 p.m. IST on Wednesday is expected to show the Indian economy likely returned to a more normal 6.2% annual growth rate in July-September after double-digit expansion in the previous quarter.
Wall Street equities closed mostly lower overnight on Tuesday, ahead of Powell's speech about the outlook for the U.S. economy and the labor market. Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index adding 0.08%.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude futures rose 1.2% on expectations of China easing strict COVID-19 controls and fall in crude stocks, but concerns that OPEC+ would keep production unchanged in its meeting on Dec. 4, capped gains.
On Tuesday, the NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.30% to settle at 18,618.05, while the S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.28% to end at 62,681.84.
Foreign institutional investors bought net of 12.42 billion rupees ($152.18 million) equities on Tuesday, while domestic investors sold 7.44 billion rupees ($91.16 million) worth of shares, as per provisional NSE data.
Stocks To Watch:
** Biocon: Biologics subsidiary completed acquisition of Viatris' global biosimilars business.
** Gland Pharma: Drugmaker to buy French Pharmaceutical firm Cenexi for 120 million euros ($123.3 million) to expand presence in Europe.
** New Delhi Television: Company's founders Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy resigned as directors on the board of the promoter group vehicle RRPR.
** IndiGo, SpiceJet: Tata Group is merging Air India with Vistara to create a bigger full-service carrier.