Sensex, Nifty Seen Tad Higher At Open

Indian shares look set to open a tad higher on Friday as investors react to the latest spate of earnings and await Supreme Court judgement on the adjusted gross revenue. The hearing scheduled for Thursday was cancelled due to the non-availability of Justice Aniruddha Bose.

Steelmakers could be in focus after the Union Cabinet approved the Rs 6,322 crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel manufacturing.

BPCL may also see significant activity after the government approved a proposal to allow 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in public sector refiners, paving the way for overseas investors to acquire the company.

Meanwhile, market heavyweight Reliance Industries will announce its quarterly results later in the day.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty jumped over 1 percent on Thursday to snap a three-day losing streak, while the rupee gained 15 paise to close at 74.46 against the greenback, extending gains for the second straight session.

Asian stocks were trading mixed this morning, with Japanese markets shut for a holiday ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games’ opening ceremony.

Gold held steady after hitting a more than one-week low in the previous session, while the dollar and yields on U.S. Treasuries eased after the auction of $16 billion in 10-year TIPS was bid at a record low.

Oil trimmed overnight gains but held around the highest in a week on expectations of tightening supplies. Bitcoin held above $32,000.

U.S. stocks rose for a third day running on Thursday, though markets finished off their highs on the back of mixed earnings updates and data showing an unexpected jump in jobless claims.

The Dow inched up 0.1 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.2 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Thursday despite dovish comments from the European Central Bank signaling that it would keep interest rates low for longer to support the economy.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.6 percent. The German DAX inched up 0.6 percent and France’s CAC 40 index rose 0.3 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.4 percent after Unilever warned that surging commodity costs would squeeze its full-year operating margin.