Sensex, Nifty Seen Flat To Higher At Open

Indian shares are likely to open on a flat note Friday despite positive global cues.

A firmer dollar and rising Treasury yields may serve to keep underlying sentiment cautious, heading into the weekend.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers and bought shares worth Rs 970.18 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 849.96 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

Benchmark indexes Senex and Nifty fell slightly on Thursday to extend losses for a third day running, while the rupee fell 22 paise to close at 82.59 against the dollar.

Asian stocks traded mostly higher, though Chinese and Hong Kong markets fell sharply on concerns that China’s economic recovery is losing steam.

The dollar was buoyed by hawkish Fed expectations while U.S. Treasury bond yields retreated ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech.

Gold was little changed while oil prices edged up slightly after falling sharply in the U.S. trading session overnight.

U.S. stocks closed higher for a second straight day on Thursday, with Walmart’s strong earnings and optimism that lawmakers will eventually reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling helping underpin sentiment.

Traders also reacted to mixed readings on existing home sales, regional manufacturing activity and weekly jobless claims.

The S&P 500 gained 0.9 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.5 percent to reach their best closing levels in about nine months while the Dow added 0.3 percent.

European stocks closed higher on Thursday amid U.S. debt ceiling optimism and comments from ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos that most of the tightening has already been done.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.4 percent. The German DAX rallied 1.3 percent, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.3 percent.