Indian shares outlook - flat-to-lower on mixed Asian cues, Wall Street losses

MUMBAI, Jul 16, 2008 (Thomson Financial via COMTEX) -- INTC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Indian shares are likely to open little changed with a negative bias on Wednesday on mixed cues from Asian indices after an overnight decline on Wall Street on worries about the impact of the credit crisis.

However, U.S. technology stocks boosted the Nasdaq after Intel Corp., the world's largest supplier of microprocessors, posted better-than-expected earnings on Tuesday.

Yesterday, the 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) plummeted 654.32 points, or 4.91 percent, to 12,676.19, a 15-month low. The 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) fell 178.60 points, or 4.42 percent, to 3,861.10.

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday cut its local currency grade outlook on India to 'negative' citing "considerable deterioration" in the government's fiscal position in the fiscal year 2008-09, combined with an increase in government debt issuance to finance subsidies not accounted for in the federal budget.

Foreign funds reacted to the downgrade by cashing out $52.6 million from domestic equity markets on Tuesday, according to the data from the market regulator. In 2008 foreign outflows touched $6.78 billion.

Meanwhile, oil prices rose in Asia on Wednesday after fears about economic growth sent prices into their steepest fall in 17 years in New York trade. New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, was 22 cents higher at $138.96 a barrel. The contract sank $6.44 to close at $138.74 a barrel on Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its sharpest single-session decline since January 1991.

Among the companies that will report first-quarter results on Wednesday are top mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd. (HDFC) and biggest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com aka/alo

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