Nifty likely to follow rest of Asia, open in green

The Nifty is likely to open in the green with indicator SGX Nifty trading at 8228.50, up 60.50 points. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 190.04 points or 0.70 percent to 26845.81 on Thursday after rallying more than 1400 points in previous six consecutive sessions. The 50-share NSE Nifty too declined 48.05 points or 0.59 percent to 8129.35. The BSE Midcap Index underperformed benchmarks, losing 1 percent.

Meanwhile, in early morning trade, Asian stocks marched higher on Friday, following a positive lead from Wall Street on Thursday night, fueled by dovish signals from the US Federal Reserve minutes. The Nikkei 225, Japan's benchmark index, opened up 0.8 percent at 18,281.51, recovering some of Thursday's losses. The Nikkei closed down 1 percent on Thursday, snapping a six-session winning streak, after taking a hit from weak machinery orders data and profit-taking.

Chinese stocks continue to be in focus, after the Shanghai Composite surged 3 percent on Thursday in a catch-up rally post a week-long holiday. The market's performance on Friday was far less impressive, with the index rising just 0.2 percent in early trade.

Hong Kong stocks, on the other hand, logged solid gains at the start of trade, with the Hang Seng Index up 1.5 percent after being hit by profit taking a day earlier.

Australia's ASX 200 rose 0.9 percent to 5,257.80, on track for the fifth straight day of gains, underpinned by advances in materials, energy and resource-related stocks.

Stocks closed higher in the US, with the Dow and S&P above key psychological levels, as investors digested the Federal Reserve's September meeting minutes which indicated that policymakers were still watching inflation and the impact of slower global growth. Treasury yields held higher in the close, with the 10-year at 2.10 percent. Weekly jobless claims declined to 263,000, a near 42-year low.

European stocks too closed higher as investors shook off global market woes and steered their focus towards the oil price rally and individual stock news. The German Dax index ended the day up 0.2 percent, shaking off data which revealed exports had slumped 5.2 percent in August, it's steepest decline since the height of the financial crisis in 2009.

In the currency space, the US dollar fell after the release of Fed minutes, while the euro gained. Crude prices, meanwhile, climbed to their highest level since July as Russia's military involvement in Syria brought geopolitical risk premium into the market. Brent crude rose above 53 dollars per barrel. Gold prices, however, continued to trade largely unchanged around USD 1140 an ounce.