BENGALURU, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Indian shares opened higher on Wednesday, tracking gains in Asia and an overnight rally in U.S. stocks, amid bets that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates early next year.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty rose 0.41% to 21,529.05 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex was 0.39% higher at 71,618.48 as of 9:16 a.m. IST. (Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)