Sensex, Nifty Seen Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open a tad higher on Friday as markets resume trading after a holiday on Thursday for Maharashtra Day.

Stock-specific action is likely as investors react to the latest batch of earnings results and April sales data from auto companies.

Benchmark indexes ended marginally lower on Wednesday after a choppy session.

The rupee surged 42 paise to 84.54 against the greenback, marking its highest level this year aided by the prospect of easing global trade tensions.

Asian markets were mostly higher this morning as news of trade talks between China and the U.S. helped offset disappointing earnings results from Apple Inc. and Amazon.

Apple has warned of increased costs as a result of tariffs while Amazon said it is bracing for a tougher business climate.

Meanwhile, China said it is assessing the possibility of trade talks with the U.S. after senior U.S. officials repeatedly expressed their willingness to negotiate on tariffs.

Oil prices were up around 1 percent in Asian trading after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened sanctions against buyers of Iranian oil.

The dollar was track for a third consecutive weekly gain ahead of the all-important U.S. jobs report due later in the day. Gold fell to as low as $3,220 per ounce.

U.S. stocks rose overnight as upbeat earnings news from software giant Microsoft and Facebook parent Meta Platforms helped ease concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) spending.

Economic data on the session painted a sluggish picture, with U.S. manufacturing contracting for a second straight month in April and initial unemployment claims posting an unexpected increase last week.

That followed Wednesday's data showing the U.S. economy contracted for the first time in three years in the last quarter and hiring by private-sector employers slowed to the weakest pace in nine months in April.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.5 percent to reach its best closing level in over a month, while the S&P 500 added 0.6 percent and the Dow edged up by 0.2 percent.

Most European markets were closed on Thursday for May Day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 showed a lack of direction before finishing marginally higher.