Indian shares look set to open a tad higher on Friday after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that Washington and Beijing were close to striking a trade deal.
A spokesperson for China's commerce ministry said that the two countries are holding "in-depth" discussions on the 'phase one' trade deal, and that canceling tariffs is an important condition for reaching an agreement.
China also lifted a nearly five-year ban on imports of U.S. poultry meat, a move that could lead to more than $1 billion in annual shipments to China.
Underlying sentiment, however, may remain cautious after Moody's Investors Service cut its India GDP growth forecast for 2019 by 60 bps to 5.6 percent, citing muted investment activity and slowing consumption demand.
Telecom stocks could be in focus today after Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea posted record losses in the September quarter, ravaged by an unfavorable Supreme Court verdict on adjusted gross revenues.
On the positive side, investors are pinning hopes that the RBI will go for two consecutive rate cuts in December and February to push up growth.
Indian Oil Corp shares may see increased activity amid reports that the government plans to reduce its stake in the state-run oil marketing company to below 51 percent.
Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty ended a choppy session modestly higher on Thursday, helped by fag-end buying in banking and IT stocks. The rupee rose by 13 paise to close at 71.96 against the U.S. dollar, clocking its first gain after five sessions.
Asian markets are rising this morning and safe-haven assets such as gold and the yen weakened while oil rebounded after sliding on Thursday on data showing a larger than expected increase in crude stockpiles last week.
U.S. Treasury yields rose after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the risk of the U.S. economy facing a dramatic bust is remote.
U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as optimism over a 'phase one' U.S.-China trade deal faded and Cisco Systems issued a bleak outlook.
The S&P 500 inched up 0.1 percent to a fresh record closing high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite index edged down marginally.
European markets ended lower on Thursday as investors reacted to weak data from Asia and Europe.
The pan European Stoxx 600 shed 0.4 percent. The German DAX dropped 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 index edged down 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.8 percent.
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