Market may open lower

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 16 points at the opening bell.

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading lower Friday as investors await several economic data releases for July.

In US, shares on Wall Street shrugged off a sluggish start and closed higher on Thursday, with the Nasdaq ending the session above 11,000 for the first time as investors hoped for a new fiscal stimulus package.

Investors remain hopeful that lawmakers can strike a deal on a fresh round of coronavirus relief for those Americans out of work, while both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said they remained optimistic on an agreement.

Democrats and Republicans have been at loggerheads, as they run up against a self-imposed deadline of Friday, over the scope of any new aid package, including over how much to provide in federal jobless assistance, which provided an extra $600 a week before it expired in July, in addition to state-provided benefits. The Trump administration on Wednesday also floated the idea of taking executive action if Democrats and Republicans aren't able to reach a compromise on providing further assistance to those worst hit by the viral outbreak.

Investors took heart after the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the week ended Aug. 1 fell to a three-week low of 1.186 million, a decline of 249,000 from the previous week's reading of 1.435 million. The number of people receiving traditional jobless benefits through the states, known as continuing claims, dropped by a seasonally adjusted 844,000 to 16.1 million in the week ended July 25.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday it was possible the United States would have a coronavirus vaccine before the November election, a far more optimistic forecast than timing put forth by White House health experts.

Meanwhile, signs of growing China-U.S. tensions were evident as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly asked American companies to consider withholding their apps from phones made by China's Huawei Technologies. Those comments come as the U.S. has threatened to ban China-owned entertainment applications TikTok unless Microsoft Corp. can strike a deal to buy all or part of the company from ByteDance.

Back home, key benchmarks ended a volatile session with strong gains on Thursday. Banks and financial stocks were in action after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left key interest rates unchanged and allowed banks to restructure certain loans as part of efforts to revive the economy. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex spurted 362.12 points or 0.96% at 38,025.45. The Nifty 50 index jumped 98.50 points or 0.89% at 11,200.15.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 637.43 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 468 crore in the Indian equity market on 6 August, provisional data showed.

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