Sensex, Nifty Seen Higher At Open On Strong Wall Street Cues

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open slightly higher on Friday as investors weigh firm Wall Street cues against data showing that India's trade deficit widened to a five-month high in May.

Meanwhile, Moody's Investors Service projected a downward trend for India's debt burden and said the key determinant of the country's fiscal strength and the credit profile will be debt affordability.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell around half a percent on Thursday to snap a three-day winning streak while the rupee halted a four-day winning run to close at 82.1750 against the dollar.

Asian stocks traded mostly higher this morning, though Japanese markets fell ahead of the Bank of Japan's interest-rate decision.

Gold edged up slightly while oil held steady after rising about 3 percent to a one-week high Thursday on data showing a jump in refinery runs in top crude importer China.

U.S. stocks posted strong gains overnight on the back of mixed economic data and optimism that the Fed will not follow through with more rate hikes.

U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose unexpectedly in May, import prices fell in the month and jobless claims were flat for the week ended June 30 while production at U.S. factories almost stalled in May, separate reports showed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both rallied around 1.2 percent to hit their closing levels in over a year, while the Dow climbed 1.3 percent to reach a six-month closing high.

European stocks closed broadly lower on Thursday after the European Central Bank raised rates by 25 basis points to a 22-year high and signaled another hike in July.

The central bank also lowered the growth projections for the euro area and raised inflation projections through 2025.

The pan European STOXX 600 eased 0.1 percent. The German DAX slipped 0.1 percent and France's CAC 40 shed half a percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.3 percent.