Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 24 points at the opening bell. On the macro front, India’s exports jumped 45.17% to $33.14 billion in August as against $22.83 billion in the same month last year, according to the commerce ministry’s provisional data. Imports in August rose 51.47% to $47.01 billion, as against $31.03 billion in the corresponding month of 2020. The trade deficit in August 2021 was $13.87 billion, compared to $8.2 billion in the year-ago period.
Overseas, Asian stocks rose on Friday as investors look ahead to the release of a private survey on China’s services sector activity in August.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out record finishes on Thursday, while the Dow also posted a modest gain, as higher commodity prices helped energy names recover ground and the latest jobs data left investors unfazed about existing positions.
The US trade deficit narrowed more than expected in July as imports declined likely because of shortages and a shift in domestic spending from goods to services. The Commerce Department said on Thursday that the trade gap fell 4.3% to USD 70.1 billion. Data for June was revised to show the deficit at USD 73.2 billion instead of USD 75.7 billion as previously reported.
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000 for the week ended August 28, the lowest level since mid-March 2020.
Back home, domestic equity benchmarks clocked robust gains on Thursday, amid buying interest in FMCG and IT stocks. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 514.33 points or 0.9% at 57,852.54. The Nifty 50 index advanced 157.90 points or 0.92% at 17,234.15.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 348.52 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 381.70 crore in the Indian equity market on 2 September, provisional data showed.