Sensex, Nifty Seen Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open higher on Friday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. and South Korea could reach an "agreement of understanding" on trade as soon as next week.

Meanwhile, hopes for a resolution in U.S.-China trade talks prevail despite Beijing saying there were "absolutely no negotiations on the economy and trade between China and the U.S.

"They had a meeting this morning," U.S. President Trump said Thursday about China. "It doesn't matter who 'they' is. We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we've been meeting with China."

On the earnings front, chipmaker Intel's quarterly outlook disappointed, sending shares lower in extended trading hours.

On the positive side, Google-parent Alphabet reported first-quarter revenue and profit that exceeded analysts' expectations.

Closer home, Axis Bank and Tech Mahindra have reported better-than-expected earnings for the January- March period.

Several prominent companies including Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki, RBL Bank, Tata Technologies, L&T Finance and Hindustan Zinc will publish their fourth-quarter results later today.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended slightly lower on Thursday as trade war fears resurfaced and India announced strong diplomatic actions against Pakistan, following a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir.

The rupee ended 15 paise stronger at 85.27, reversing early losses as the dollar weakened in international markets.

Asian markets were broadly higher this morning following comments from two Federal Reserve officials about cutting interest rates.

Japan's Nikkei was up more than 1 percent after positive comments on U.S.-Japan trade talks and as lawmakers in the lower house passed the country's first regulatory bill for artificial intelligence in an attempt to position the nation as the most AI-friendly country in the world.

The dollar index drifted higher in Asian trading at the end of a volatile week. Gold traded firm above $3,350 per ounce and was poised for a third consecutive week of gains.

Oil was little changed but was set for a weekly loss on expectations of increased OPEC+ supply and a possible ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.

U.S. stocks rose overnight as chipmaker Texas Instruments gave a better-than-anticipated forecast, and traders hoped for favorable outcome from ongoing trade negotiations.

In economic releases, jobless claims rose in line with expectations last week and durable goods orders surged much more than expected in March, driven almost entirely by a 27 percent jump in transportation equipment, while sales of existing homes logged the biggest monthly drop since 2022 in March due to economic uncertainty and high home prices, separate reports revealed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared 2.7 percent and the S&P 500 rallied 2 percent to extend gains for the third day in a row while the Dow advanced 1.2 percent. European stocks recovered from an early slide to end mostly higher on Thursday. The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.4 percent.

The German DAX rose half a percent, France's CAC 40 added 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished marginally higher.