Sensex, Nifty Seen Opening Higher On Firm Global Cues

Indian shares look set to open higher on Friday, tracking gains in global markets.

Trading volumes are likely to remain thin due to lesser participation from foreign investors as the year draws to a close.

The Indian economy is confronting strong global headwinds, which could act as a drag on its recovery, the RBI said in the Financial Stability Report.

At the same time, the report stressed that lenders were well capitalized and capable of absorbing macroeconomic shocks even in the absence of capital infusion by the stakeholders.

Separate data released by the RBI showed that India’s current account deficit widened to 4.4 percent of GDP in Q2.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty recovered from an early slide to end modestly higher on Thursday and the rupee eked out slim gains as the dollar flatlined and oil prices eased on fuel demand concerns.

Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher this morning, even as overall gains remained capped outside Hong Kong amid worries that a new COVID variant could emerge in China as the virus spreads widely and rapidly.

U.S. health officials and the World Health Organization (WHO) have called on China to share more information on the spread of COVID in the country, saying the lack of transparency could delay the identification of new COVID variants that pose a threat to public health.

Gold edged higher as the latest U.S. labor market data led to some dollar weakness and Treasury yields backing off.

Oil edged up slightly after a three-day run of declines as more countries announce restrictions on Chinese travelers.

U.S. stocks rallied overnight as investors sought to snap up bargains in the tech sector, looking past worries that new variants could emerge from China’s continuing COVID outbreak.

Investors also digested data showing that jobless claims rose slightly in the week ended December 24 but held near historic lows.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index surged 2.6 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 1.8 percent and the Dow added 1.1 percent.

European stocks reversed course to end higher on Thursday, tracking the broad-based rally on Wall Street on the penultimate trading day of the year.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose 0.7 percent. The German DAX gained 1.1 percent, France’s CAC 40 index advanced 1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2 percent.

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