Indian shares seen remaining choppy next week

MUMBAI: India's stock market is likely to remain choppy next week, as investors eye the annual economic survey and rail budget for future trends, dealers said Friday.

The annual economic survey is set to be presented on July 2 and the rail budget on July 3.

This week overseas funds sold equities worth 408.7 million rupees and local institutional funds bought sporadically, which failed to boost sentiment on the markets.

For the week to June 26, the Sensex index rose 1.67 percent or 242.75 points to 14,764.64, as investors bet on reforms when the government unveils it budget next month.

At its recent intraday peak of 15,600 points, the Sensex was up more than 90 percent from a low of 8,047.17 in early March, before slipping on profit taking.

The Congress-led government is set to present its budget on July 6 and its focus is expected to be on spurring growth even at the risk of a wider fiscal deficit.

Investors have bet on the government also introducing reforms that would help spur investment in the financial and infrastructure sectors.

They expect aid for exporters and a further lowering of interest rates.

Foreign funds have bought equities worth 4.8 billion dollars so far this year after selling shares worth 5.87 billion dollars during the same period last year.