BENGALURU, July 31 (Reuters) - Indian shares are set to open largely unchanged on Wednesday with analysts expecting profit booking to continue as indexes remain record highs, while the focus shifts to Federal Reserve's rate decision and commentary due later in the day.
The GIFT Nifty GIFc1 was at 24,949 points as of 8:02 a.m. IST, suggesting the Nifty 50 .NSEI will open Tuesday's close of 24,857.3.
The Nifty 50 rose to a record high of 24,997.55 points on Monday.
"The level of 25,000 is proving to be tough to cross, we expect range-bound action and a bit of profit taking to continue," said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.
Street reaction to the markets regulator's proposals to curb the frenzy in the country's options markets will be in focus.
Securities and Exchange Board of India late on Tuesday proposed measures, including raising the minimum trading amount by over three times, to curb the exuberance in options trading.
These proposals, if implemented, will likely impact volumes, analysts said.
However, the overall outlook for Indian equities remains positive, helped by earnings momentum, they said.
"A marginal beat on the revenue and flat margins keep earnings (so far) a tad ahead of our estimates," analysts led by Ridham Desai, equity strategist at Morgan Stanley, said.
The breadth of earnings beating estimates remains robust, triggering stock-specific rallies, they added.
Information technology companies, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S., will be in focus, with the Fed expected to maintain a rate pause. Still, dovish commentary could boost sentiment and spur a rally in Indian markets.
Traders are pricing in Fed rate cuts from September.
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Torrent Power TOPO.NS: Company reports rise in June quarter profit on robust demand.
** Vedanta VDAN.NS: Company gets tax assessment order with demand of 12.89 billion rupees.
** Macrotech Developers MACE.NS: Company posts sharp rise in June quarter profit.
** Earnings today: Mahindra & Mahindra MAHM.NS, Maruti Suzuki India MRTI.NS, Tata Steel TISC.NS, Coal India COAL.NS
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
((bharath.rajeswaran@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9769003463;))