Indian shares set to open little changed; eye on Trump’s fresh tariff vows

(Reuters) - Indian shares are set for a muted opening on Tuesday, after gaining nearly 4% over the past two sessions, with an eye on global trade tensions after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump pledged fresh tariffs on imports from three countries, including China.

The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,287.5, as of 08:25 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open near Monday's close of 24,221.9.

"The relief rally, backed by robust short-covering ahead of the monthly expiry this week, continued for a second straight session on Monday," said Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president of research at Mehta Equities.

"The enthusiasm after the ruling alliance's Maharashtra election win gave markets a major boost."

Foreign investors snapped their 38-session record selling streak on Monday.

The recent correction made valuations attractive in large-caps, according to analysts.

Other Asian markets opened lower after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump pledged a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% tariff on China.

Trump's comments triggered a rise in U.S. dollar. [MKTS/GLOB]

Among individual stocks, Adani group companies will be in focus after ratings agency Fitch put some of the conglomerate's bonds on watch for a possible downgrade after some of the firm's key executives were indicted by U.S. authorities for alleged bribery charges.

The group has denied the allegations, calling them baseless.

Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Electricity Mumbai and some of Adani Ports' rupee and dollar bonds are now on "watch negative", Fitch said.

French oil major TotalEnergies on Monday halted investments into Adani Group, plunging Adani Green 8% lower.

Since the U.S. indictment, the Adani group has lost about $29 billion in market value in three sessions, with about $27 billion lost on Nov. 21.

STOCKS TO WATCH

** Hindustan Unilever approves de-merger of ice-cream business into separate listed entity.

** KEC International wins new orders worth 11.14 billion rupees (about $132 million).

** HDFC Life launches probe after customer data shared with "mala fide" intent.

** Ashoka Buildcon secures 13.91 billion rupees National Highways project.

($1 = 84.3230 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)