Sensex, Nifty Set To Follow Asian Peers Lower

Indian shares may open marginally lower on Friday, tracking weak cues from other Asian markets.

Investors are pinning hopes for a favorable union budget, which is likely to be presented in the third week of July.

Activity is likely to be centered around broader market, following recent outperformance of mid-cap and small-cap stocks.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty eked out modest gains on Thursday to extend gains for a third straight session while the rupee settled 7 paise lower at 83.55 against the dollar.

Asian stocks were broadly lower this morning ahead of the BOJ policy decision. The dollar eased and gold edged up slightly while oil prices slipped after four straight days of gains.

Overnight, U.S. stocks finished mostly higher as May producer price data added to signs of easing inflationary pressures.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.2 percent to post its fourth consecutive record close and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.3 percent to hit a new record closing high while the Dow slipped 0.2 percent.

Data showed the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 2.2 percent in May from an upwardly revised 2.3 percent in April.

Separate data revealed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased to a 10-month high last week.

European stocks slumped on Thursday as Eurozone industrial production unexpectedly ticked lower in April and investors pondered the impact of rising political risk in France.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped 1.3 percent. The German DAX and France’s CAC 40 both plunged by 2 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 shed 0.6 percent.