Stocks may open slightly higher

SGX Nifty:

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 20 points at the opening bell.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mixed on Thursday as China reported its second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) jumped.

China's GDP rose 7.9% year-on-year in the second quarter, official data showed Thursday. Meanwhile, retail sales in June jumped 12.1% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Chinese industrial output rose 8.3% year-on-year in June.

China's central bank partially rolled over maturing medium-term loans on Thursday, the same day when a cut in the banks' reserve requirements takes effect.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement it was keeping the rate on 100 billion yuan ($15.46 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions steady at 2.95% from previous operations.

US stocks closed flat on Wednesday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell soothed investor angst by saying a recent inflation spike will fade, helping lift the S&P 500 to a fresh intraday record.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will maintain its easy monetary policies. Powell said in his semiannual testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services Wednesday that the central bank can wait before it starts to ease its bond purchases despite surging inflation readings. The Fed chair said he still expects inflation to moderate.

At our June meeting, the Committee discussed the economy's progress toward our goals since we adopted our asset purchase guidance last December. While reaching the standard of 'substantial further progress' is still a ways off, participants expect that progress will continue, Powell said.

Domestic markets:

Back home, the benchmark indices ended with decent gains on Wednesday, led by strength in IT shares. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 134.32 points or 0.25% to 52,904.05. The Nifty 50 index added 41.60 points or 0.26% to 15,853.95.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,303.95 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,335.91 crore in the Indian equity market on 14 July, provisional data showed.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News