Sensex, Nifty May Follow Asian Peers Higher

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open on a positive note Friday as investors react to positive cues from other Asian markets and SEBI's decision to tweak F&O rules and ease delisting norms.

Meanwhile, the inclusion of India's government bonds into JPMorgan Chase & Co. emerging markets index from today is expected to open up a $1.3 trillion market to a broader range of investors.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty jumped around 0.7 percent each to hit fresh record highs on Thursday while the rupee rose by 14 paise to close at 83.45 due to dollar inflows on bonds ahead of the index inclusion and rebalancing flows.

Asian markets were broadly higher this morning as bond yields declined on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year to prevent a bigger slowdown in the world's largest economy.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he continues to expect one interest rate cut this year in the fourth quarter as inflation shows progress.

The dollar was little changed in Asian trading and Treasuries held gains from the previous session ahead of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge due later in the day.

Oil extended gains for a third straight session while gold slipped after rising in the previous session.

Overnight, U.S. stocks fluctuated before finishing modestly higher despite selling among key semiconductor stocks following disappointing guidance from memory-chip maker Micron Technology.

U.S. Q1 GDP growth was revised higher to 1.4 percent as expected and jobless claims declined last week while orders for durable goods unexpectedly rose in May, but slowed versus the prior month, separate set of data revealed.

The Dow and the S&P 500 both ended flat with a positive bias while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.3 percent.

European stocks fell broadly on Thursday as bond yields surged following inflation warnings from Australia and Canada.

The pan European STOXX 600 dipped 0.4 percent. While the German DAX edged up 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 dropped 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 0.6 percent.