Sensex, Nifty Seen Opening Up On Wall Street Cues

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open higher on Friday as investors react to firm global cues and the latest batch of earnings results from prominent companies such as Adani Enterprises and Coal India.

Meanwhile, Apple announced a record share buyback program and increased cash dividend after quarterly results beat expectations. Market attention remains focused on the release of key U.S. nonfarm payrolls report later in the day that might offer additional clues on the Federal Reserve's rate path ahead.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty edged up around 0.2 percent each on Thursday while the rupee fell by 3 paise to close at 83.46 against the dollar.

Asian stocks traded higher in thin trade this morning, with markets in Japan and mainland China closed for holidays.

The yen touched a three-week high against the greenback and gold was little changed above $2,300 per ounce, while oil edged up but headed for a steep weekly loss on demand concerns.

U.S. stocks rose sharply overnight as rate hike fears faded and traders pulled forward expectations for the Federal Reserve's first full interest-rate cut by a month to November.

In economic news, weekly jobless claims remained historically low last week and new orders for U.S.-manufactured goods increased solidly in March, while workers' productivity slowed more sharply than anticipated at the start of 2024, pushing labor costs much higher, separate reports showed.

The Dow and the S&P 500 both rose around 0.9 percent, while the-tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.5 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Thursday. The pan European STOXX 600 eased 0.2 percent as a survey showed the downturn in euro zone manufacturing activity deepened in April.

The German DAX slipped 0.2 percent and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.9 percent after the Fed signaled that interest rates will remain higher for a longer period. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.6 percent on the back of strong earnings.