Sensex, Nifty Seen Flat To Higher At Open

Indian shares may open flat to slightly higher on Friday, tracking weakness in dollar and further fall in oil prices on demand worries.

The upside, if any, may remain limited by muted global cues and caution ahead of earnings from heavyweights including Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank.

HCL Technologies and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance on Thursday posted quarterly earnings in line with estimates.

Meanwhile, the fight against inflation is far from over and the latest pause in repo rate is tactical and not a pivot or a change in policy direction, according to this month’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting released on Thursday.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended Thursday’s session marginally higher, snapping a three-session losing streak. The rupee rose by 7 paise to close at 82.17 against the greenback, halting a three-day losing run.

Asian stocks were broadly lower this morning as investors fretted about an upcoming recession.

The dollar slipped against the Japanese yen and bond yields declined, as weak U.S. data released overnight pointed to a slowing economy.

Investors also fretted about negotiations in Washington to raise the U.S. government debt ceiling.

Gold traded weak but held above $2,000 per ounce amid expectations that the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates by 25 basis points next month.

Oil prices were little changed after two days of heavy losses on fears that a global recession could dent fuel demand.

U.S. stocks ended firmly in the red overnight as investors reacted to weak economic data and a mixed bag of earnings from the likes of Tesla, AT&T, American Express and IBM.

Weekly jobless claims surged last week, manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region plunged to its lowest level in 3 years in April and existing home sales fell in March, adding to recession worries.

The Dow slid 0.3 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.8 percent and the S&P 500 eased 0.6 percent.

European stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday amid concerns about the outlook for economic and earnings growth.

The pan European STOXX 600 dipped 0.2 percent. The German DAX declined 0.6 percent and France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.1 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 finished marginally higher.