Sensex, Nifty Set To Open Higher On Firm Global Cues

Indian shares are likely to open a tad higher on Friday amid optimism that consumer and business confidence will get a boost, reflecting a phased easing of the lockdowns and a faster pace of vaccinations.

The government does not expect the economic impact of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to be as severe as the first, said finance secretary TV Somanathan in an interaction with the media.

Banks could be in focus after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it would conduct third tranche of open market purchase of Rs 40,000 crore under G-sec acquisition program on June 17.

In another development, media reports suggest that State Bank of India plans to transfer bad loans worth Rs 20,000 crore to the National Asset Reconstruction Company.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty climbed around 0.7 percent each on Thursday amid the weekly expiration of index futures and option contracts.

The rupee ended down 9 paise at 73.06 against the dollar, extending losses for the third straight session.

Asian markets held mostly steady this morning as the G7 summit gets underway in Cornwall. A weaker dollar and U.S. bond yields helped gold hover near the key $1,900 per ounce level, while oil trimmed gains but headed for a third weekly rise.

U.S. stocks rose overnight as investors digested separate data showing another leap in consumer prices and a fall in unemployment benefits for the sixth straight week.

The Labor Department said its consumer price inflation rose an annual 5 percent in May, marking the highest annual inflation rate in nearly 13 years.

The Dow inched up 0.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8 percent while the S&P 500 added half a percent to reach a new record closing high.

European stocks ended mixed on Thursday as the European Central Bank maintained an elevated flow of stimulus, as widely expected, and raised its growth and inflation projections.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended flat with a positive bias. The German DAX slipped 0.1 percent and France’s CAC 40 index dipped 0.3 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 inched up 0.1 percent.

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