Indian Shares Set For Cautious Open Ahead Of RBI's Rate Decision

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening on a subdued note on Friday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy review later today, with markets expecting measures to boost inflows and support the local currency.

The central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold amid inflation challenges and concerns over economic growth in view of the West Asia conflict.

The central bank's commentary on inflation, rupee movement and the evolving economic situation will be keenly monitored.

Traders may also closely watch the latest developments related to Rajesh Exports after SEBI's interim order against the company alleged one of the largest cases of financial misrepresentation in recent corporate history.

The gold and jewelry exporter has allegedly inflated revenues by Rs 15.15 lakh crore over FY21 to FY25. State-run insurer LIC holds a 10.8 percent stake in the company as on March 31,2026.

Canara Bank has reportedly classified its exposure to the company as a stressed asset following repayment defaults.

Through a regulatory filing, the company said it has done no wrong and the core observation with regards to a revenue representation has emerged primarily due to "confusion".

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty recovered from an early slide to end marginally higher on Thursday despite continued foreign investor selling and weekly BSE F&O expiry-related pressure.

The rupee closed marginally weaker at 95.7850 per dollar, extending a two-day decline after moving in a narrow range through the session.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers and offloaded shares worth Rs. 4,447 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs. 4,360 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were broadly lower this morning due to steep losses in major technology stocks.

On the geopolitical front, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that final negotiations are underway to end the war in Iran, though Iran's foreign minister earlier indicated that talks had stalled.

The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has emphatically rejected the terms of a U.S.-backed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and said it would not withdraw troops from the country, throwing the future of the truce into an abyss.

The dollar was on track for a modest weekly gain and gold held below $4,450 an ounce ahead of a crucial U.S. jobs report due later in the day.

Brent crude futures remained on track for a weekly gain despite falling nearly 3 percent in the previous session.

U.S. stocks ended mostly higher overnight as energy prices fell on hopes for a resolution to the Middle East war, helping offset Broadcom's disappointing revenue forecast and data showing an increase in weekly jobless claims to a four-month high. The Dow jumped 1.7 percent to reach a new record closing high and the S&P 500 added 0.4 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 0.1 percent.

European stocks rose on Thursday as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government raised hopes for broader de-escalation in the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.

The pan-European STOXX 600 advanced half a percent. The German DAX gained 0.6 percent, France's CAC 40 rallied 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up by 0.3 percent.