June 19 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks are set to open lower on Thursday, pressured by hawkish signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve and persistent geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East.

The Gift Nifty futures GIFc1 were trading at 24,768, as of 7:33 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 .NSEI will open below the previous close of 24,812.05.

Broader Asian markets declined, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index .MIAPJ0000PUS slipping 0.8%. On Wall Street, U.S. equities closed largely unchanged after the Fed left interest rates steady but signalled a slower path for rate cuts, projecting two reductions by year-end. MKTS/GLOB

Fed Chair Jerome Powell also noted that goods inflation could accelerate over the summer, partly driven by tariffs linked to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies.

A slower pace of monetary easing is likely to curb foreign investors' appetite for riskier emerging market assets such as Indian equities.Geopolitical risks remain front and center. The Israel-Iran conflict stretched into a seventh day, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejecting Trump's demand for unconditional surrender. In response, Trump said his patience had run out and warned of unpredictable consequences.

"Indian market continues to wrestle with macro headwinds —rising crude prices, sticky inflation, and geopolitical flashpoints — all of which cloud earnings visibility," Bajaj Broking Research wrote in a note.

Both the Nifty and Sensex .BSESN indexes fell in the last two sessions, but the losses were marginal. .BO

Domestic institutional investors purchased Indian shares for the 22nd straight session on Wednesday, buying stock worth 10.91 billion rupees ($126.26 million), and helping cushion volatility from foreign flows.

STOCKS TO WATCH

** Puravankara PURA.NS secures contract worth 2.72 billion rupees for Bengaluru residential project

** Hero MotoCorp HROM.NS says it will introduce Vida VX2 electric scooters with Battery-as-a-Service model, starting from July 1, 2025

** Abbott India ABOT.NS and MSD Pharmaceuticals enter into a strategic distribution agreement to broaden access of MSD's oral anti-diabetes medications in India

($1 = 86.4100 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

((bharath.rajeswaran@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9769003463;))