Sensex, Nifty Eye Cautious Start After Recent Gains

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening little changed on Friday after recent gains supported by GST reforms and encouraging progress in India-U.S. trade discussions.

Adani group stocks could be in focus today after SEBI's investigation found no evidence that the diversified group used related parties to channel funds into its listed companies, dismissing allegations levelled by U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research against the group in early 2023.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around 0.4 percent each on Thursday to extend gains for a third consecutive session.

The rupee settled 28 paise lower at 88.13 against the dollar, snapping a four-day winning streak on hawkish Fed and worries over U.S. tariffs and global trade uncertainties.

Asian markets were mostly higher this morning ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy decision and a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to determine the fate of TikTok and the future of U.S.-China relations.

Gold held steady in Asian trade while oil prices were slightly lower. The dollar index rose for a third consecutive day after Thursday's data showed U.S. jobless claims had dropped by the most in nearly four years, suggesting the U.S. economy remains resilient and is unlikely to spiral into a recession.

U.S. stocks notched fresh record highs overnight as Nvidia agreed to invest $5 billion in Intel Corp and data showed fewer Americans filed new applications for unemployment benefits last week.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9 percent, the S&P 500 added half a percent and the Dow rose 0.3 percent, a day after the Fed delivered its first interest-rate cut since December 2024 and signaled two more rate cuts in 2025.

European stocks closed higher on Thursday following Federal Reserve and Bank of England rate decisions.

The pan European STOXX 600 advanced 0.8 percent. The German DAX surged 1.4 percent, France's CAC 40 climbed 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2 percent.