Sensex, Nifty Set To Extend Losses

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open lower on Friday as investors fret over stalled India-U.S. trade deal, slowing earnings growth and continued selling by foreign portfolio investors.

U.S.-India trade talks remain stuck on a few key issues, including U.S. demands for greater access to India's agricultural and dairy sectors.

Also, India has been pushing for exemptions from U.S. President Trump's sectoral tariffs for pharmaceuticals and automobile components.

However, India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said he was optimistic that his country could reach an agreement with the U.S. ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline to avert threatened tariffs of 26 percent.

Meanwhile, India and the United Kingdom have signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement on Thursday that is expected to ease tariffs on key goods and boost bilateral market access.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively on Thursday, with financials and IT stocks pacing the declines. The rupee pared initial gains to end flat at 86.40 against the dollar.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 2,134 crore on a net basis Thursday, while domestic institutional investors were net buyers of shares to the extent of Rs 2,617 crore, provisional data showed.

Asian markets were mostly lower this morning as the reciprocal tariff deadline loomed and investors looked ahead to next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting, key U.S. jobs data, and earnings from the likes of Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft.

The dollar rose against the yen and gold held steady at $3,367 per ounce after U.S. President Trump used a rare visit to the Federal Reserve to renew his pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Oil prices climbed amid renewed optimism surrounding a potential trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as stronger-than-expected earnings from Google parent Alphabet offset an uptick in Treasury yields ahead of next week's Federal Reserve decision.

Economic reports painted a mixed picture of the economy, with jobless claims seeing an unexpected dip last week and new home sales holding steady at a relatively tepid level in June.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2 percent and the S&P 500 inched up marginally to hit fresh record closing highs while the Dow lost 0.7 percent, dragged down by IBM and Tesla shares.

European stocks ended mostly higher on Thursday as the European Central Bank held rates steady for the first time in over a year, as widely expected, citing trade tension uncertainty.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.2 percent. The German DAX edged up by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.9 percent while France's CAC 40 shed 0.4 percent.