Stocks may open lower

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 61 points at the opening bell.

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading higher on Thursday as investors continue to monitor the reopening of economies amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan's trade data for April released by the country's Ministry of Finance on Thursday showed exports in April plunging 21.9% as compared to a year earlier.

In US, stocks nudged higher on Wednesday, following upbeat quarterly results from retailers Target and Lowe's that had investors focused on American businesses reopening and the coronavirus pandemic beginning to recede.

Investors focused on the positives and directed their attention to wider reopening plans that are taking place throughout the U.S. Many states have been lifting restrictions on business and personal activity ahead of the Memorial Day holiday next Monday.

The Senate approved the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which seeks to force Chinese companies to adhere to U.S. securities law, ultimately by barring many from listing shares on U.S. exchanges, or otherwise raising money from American investors. The bill still would need to pass the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives before reaching the president's desk to be signed into law.

Minutes of the Fed's last policy meeting in April published Wednesday showed officials also discussed how to convince markets that interest rates will stay low for a long time.

Back home, key domestic benchmarks rallied on Wednesday, supported by firmness in HDFC twins and Reliance Industries. The barometer S&P BSE Sensex jumped 622.44 points or 2.06% at 30,818.61. The Nifty 50 index gained 187.45 points or 2.11% at 9,066.55.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,466.52 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,373.19 crore in the Indian equity market on 20 May, provisional data showed.

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