Indices may open higher

SGX Nifty:

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 29 points at the opening bell.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has further eased the COVID-19-related curbs, allowing hotels and restaurants to operate till 10 pm across the state, at 50% seating capacity, from August 15. The government has also permitted malls to remain open till 10 pm from August 15, with the requirement that the staff should be vaccinated and social distancing norms must be strictly followed. Also, only those vaccinated with both doses of COVID-19 vaccine would be allowed to visit the malls.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are mostly trading higher after U.S. shares climbed on signs of moderating inflation that reduced concerns about an imminent paring back of Federal Reserve stimulus.

Japanese wholesale prices rose in July at their fastest annual pace in 13 years. The corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, rose 5.6% in July from a year earlier, Bank of Japan data showed.

In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed at record levels on Wednesday, as data indicated U.S. inflation growth may have peaked, while sectors tied to economic growth advanced on the heels of the passage of a large infrastructure bill.

U.S. consumer prices increases slowed in July. The consumer price index increased 0.5% last month after climbing 0.9% in June, the Labor Department said on Wednesday. In the 12 months through July, the CPI advanced 5.4%. The drop in the month-to-month inflation rate was the largest in 15 months.

Investors will continue to monitor the Covid situation in the region after the World Health Organization warned global cases could pass 300 million by early next year if the pandemic continues in its current direction. The projection came just a week after the WHO reported 200 million Covid cases worldwide and six months after the globe topped 100 million cases.

In Australia, Melbourne extended its lockdown by another week as it struggles to contain the highly infectious delta variant.

Domestic markets:

Back home, the domestic equity barometers ended with almost flat on Wednesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 28.73 points or 0.05% to 54,525.93. The Nifty 50 index added 2.15 points or 0.01% to 16,282.25.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 238.14 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 206.28 crore in the Indian equity market on 11 August, provisional data showed.

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