Sensex, Nifty Likely To Open Higher Amid Cheer On Fiscal Deficit

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open notably higher on Friday, reflecting firm global cues and a drop in domestic bond yields after the government lowered its fiscal deficit target despite increased spending on infrastructure.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended a choppy session slightly lower on Thursday while the rupee gained 8 paise to close at 82.96 against the dollar.

Asian markets traded higher this morning and U.S. stock futures surged after a set of bumper results from tech giants Amazon, Apple and Meta Platforms.

The dollar fell broadly against its major rivals while oil headed for the biggest weekly loss since early November after reports that Hamas and Israel have come to an agreement on a ceasefire, a crucial step toward ending the conflict.

U.S. stocks rebounded overnight after logging their biggest daily drop of 2024 the previous day on hawkish Fed policy statement.

The Dow rose 1 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both surged around 1.3 percent as Treasury yields slipped on weaker labor market data.

U.S. jobless claims rose last week, and fourth quarter unit labor costs undershoot forecasts while business activity in the manufacturing sector continued to contract in January, separate reports showed.

European stocks closed lower for the first time in six days on Thursday despite encouraging Eurozone inflation data and signals from the Bank of England that it will likely lower borrowing costs this year for the first time since 2020.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped 0.4 percent. The German DAX eased 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 percent.