Sensex, Nifty To Open On Cautious Note; RBI Policy Outcome Eyed

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are likely to open on a cautious note Friday as investors react to muted cues from Asian markets and await the RBI's interest-rate decision later in the day for direction.

The Reserve Bank of India is likely to cut its benchmark repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent, but some analysts predict the central bank could cut by twice that amount.

It remains to be seen whether the RBI will announce any additional liquidity measures.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell around 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively on Thursday amid the expiry of the weekly options of Nifty 50 contracts. The rupee fell by 12 paise to close at 87.578 against the dollar because of the global trade war worries and sustained foreign fund outflows.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers and offloaded shares worth Rs 3,550 crore on a net basis Thursday, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 2,721 crore to extend their buying spree, according to provisional data from NSE.

Asian markets were mixed in cautious trade this morning as Amazon's revenue outlook for the first quarter missed projections and investors awaited U.S. President Donald Trump's next move on trade curbs ahead of China's tariff deadline next week.

The dollar stabilized ahead of the release of the U.S. non-farm payrolls report later in the day, with consensus for 169,000 job gains for January and unemployment rate to remain steady at 4.1 percent.

Gold prices hovered near record levels and headed for their sixth successive weekly gain on tariff concerns. Oil prices were poised to decline for a third straight week, pressured by fears of a supply glut.

U.S. stocks ended mixed in choppy trading overnight as investors awaited Amazon's earnings results and the latest jobs report.

In economic news, initial jobless claims rose more than expected last week, while worker productivity growth slowed more than expected in the fourth quarter, driving up labor costs, separate reports revealed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose half a percent and the S&P 500 added 0.4 percent to end higher for the third straight session as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated his view on a lower path for 10-year yields under the Trump administration. The Dow dipped 0.3 percent.

European stocks hit a record high on Thursday as investors assessed a rate cut from the Bank of England and a flurry of earnings.

The pan European STOXX 600 rallied 1.2 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both surged by 1.5 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 1.2 percent.