Indian Shares Seen Tad Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening a tad higher on Friday, tracking firm cues from other Asian markets. Stock-specific action may be seen due to lack of fresh triggers, lingering trade deal uncertainty and foreign fund withdrawals.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended a choppy session narrowly mixed on Thursday. Growth-related auto, bank and IT stocks and select heavyweights such as Larsen & Toubro and NTPC advanced, offsetting declines in major FMCG names.

ITC shares slumped 9.7 percent after the government announced a new excise duty on cigarettes, effective February.

The rupee fell by 10 paise to close at 89.98 against the U.S. dollar after plunging 5 percent in 2025.

Asian stocks were mostly higher this morning after ending 2025 on a subdued note.

Regional trading volumes remain thin due to holidays in Japan, China and New Zealand. The dollar was weak after its sharpest drop in eight years. As economic uncertainties mount, investors wait to see whether the next Federal Reserve chief would opt for deeper interest-rate cuts.

Current head Jerome Powell's term ends in May and President Donald Trump already said that he wants to see interest rates go down to 1 percent.

Gold was up nearly 1 percent after recording its biggest jump since the 1979 oil crisis in 2025.

Amid expectations of two additional Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026, investors now await the release of key economic data including the U.S. payrolls report and jobless data next week for additional clues on the outlook for interest rates.

Oil was little changed on the first trading day of 2026 post its biggest annual drop since 2020, with an upcoming OPEC+ meeting and geopolitical concerns in focus.

U.S. and European markets were closed on Thursday for the New Year holiday.