Oct 29 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks are set to

open higher on Wednesday, tracking gains in their Asian peers,

ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the

day.

Gift Nifty futures were trading at 26,149 points as

of 7:44 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50

will open above Tuesday's close of 25,936.20.

Most markets in Asia rose on the day, with MSCI's broadest

index for Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan up

0.5% following a fresh wave of optimism over artificial

intelligence.

The focus is also on the Fed's rate decision. Markets are

pricing in a 99.9% chance for a 25-basis-point rate cut,

according to CME's FedWatch Tool.

"A dovish tone from the U.S. Federal Reserve could further

boost liquidity flows into emerging markets like India, helping

the Nifty and Sensex sustain their momentum near record

highs," said Ponmudi R, chief executive officer of Enrich Money.

Foreign investors bought Indian shares worth 103.4 billion

rupees ($1.18 billion) on Tuesday, as per provisional data,

marking their biggest single-day buying in months.

Signs of easing global trade tensions and a drop in crude

oil prices will also aid investor sentiment on Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he

expects to reduce fentanyl-linked tariffs on China.

Oil prices slipped about 2% as investors weighed U.S.

sanctions on Russian suppliers and a potential OPEC+ plan to

raise output.

STOCKS TO WATCH

** Shares of asset management companies will be in focus as

markets regulator proposes to exclude all costs including

brokerage and taxes from a mutual fund's total expense ratio

** Tata Capital reports a rise in second-quarter

profit, in its first earnings since going public, led by steady

loan growth

** Logistics firm Blue Dart Express posts higher

quarterly profit thanks to increasing demand for delivery

services in the run-up to the festive season

($1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees)