Sensex, Nifty may open positive; key things to know before opening bell

SGX Nifty: Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 57 points at the opening bell.

Lockdowns imposed by the states in April and May to contain the second wave of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic has likely led to the economy contracting 12% in the June quarter as against 23.9% contraction in the same quarter in 2020, a UBS report said.

The economy had its worst contraction on record in FY21 at 7.3% as the two-and-half months of unplanned lockdown announced by the centre with just a four-hour notice had crippled the economy in the first quarter with a massive 23.9% contraction, which improved to -17.5% in the second quarter.

Global markets: Overseas, Asian stocks traded mixed on Friday following an overnight drop for the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wall Street. Looking ahead, the Bank of Japan is expected to release its statement on monetary policy on Friday, including its interest rate decision.

In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a second day as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest policy update, in which it moved up its timeline for interest rate hikes and forecast higher inflation. Afresh bout of rotation from cyclical stocks pushed the tech-heavy Nasdaq gauge to another record.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since April despite widespread evidence that the economy and the job market are rebounding steadily from the pandemic recession.

The Labor Department said on Thursday that jobless claims rose 37,000 from the week before to 412,000.

Domestic markets: Back home, domestic equity benchmarks ended a volatile session with modest losses on Thursday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, lost 178.65 points or 0.34% to 52,323.33. The Nifty 50 index fell 76.15 points or 0.48% to 15,691.40.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 879.73 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 45.24 crore in the Indian equity market on 17 June, provisional data showed.

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