Sensex, Nifty Seen Tad Higher With Earnings In Focus

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are likely to open a tad higher on Thursday as investors brace for the September-quarter earnings season, with TCS, India's largest IT services company, scheduled to report results after the market close later today. Tata Elxsi and GM Breweries are also due to report their quarterly earnings results.

Meanwhile, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said no power on earth can stop India from becoming a developed nation by 2047 and that the government is taking a series of initiatives to promote the domestic economy, build infrastructure and expand international trade.

He also said that India and the U.S. are in continuous dialogue on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, and all possibilities exist to meet the November deadline for concluding the talks.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended down around 0.2 percent each on Wednesday to snap their four-day winning run. The rupee fell by 3 paise to close at 88.80 against the U.S. dollar.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of shares to the extent of Rs 81 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the tune of Rs 330 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were mixed this morning as China returned from holidays. Traders are seeking clues about potential policy changes after the Golden Week results indicated that consumer spending in China remains weak.

The dollar held steady and was on track for its best week in nearly a year as the U.S. government shutdown stretched into a ninth day.

Gold traded lower but still traded above $4,000 an ounce. Oil prices fell as Israel and Hamas agreed to the "first phase" of U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan to pause fighting and release at least some hostages and prisoners, making a major breakthrough in the U.S.-brokered negotiations to end their two-year war.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended broadly higher, with tech stocks leading the way after reports suggested that Nvidia will invest $2 billion into a $20 billion equity and debt funding round for Elon Musk's AI venture.

On the economic front, data showed home loan applications in the U.S. declined for a second week in a row, but at a slower pace.

The minutes covering the Fed's Sept. 16-17 policy meeting signaled more rate cuts could be in play for the rest of 2025 despite steep divisions within the central bank about the outlook for jobs and inflation.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 gained 1.1 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively to reach new record closing highs while the narrower Dow ended marginally lower.

European markets closed on a firm note on Wednesday after the European Commission proposed measures to protect the EU's domestic steel industry.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 advanced 0.8 percent. The German DAX climbed 0.9 percent, France's CAC 40 rallied 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent.