The Nifty, which closed above its crucial psychological level of 9,050 in the previous session, should be able to reclaim 9,100 on Friday in opening trade but may come under pressure tracking mixed global cues.
Investors who went long in this market should continue with their positions as long as index holds 8,975 levels, experts suggest.
Here are top cues from domestic as well as international markets which could have a bearing on D-Street.
Wall Street ends flat
The Wall Street ended flat with a slight negative bias after the US House of Representatives canceled Thursday's vote on the healthcare plan, according to a senior House Republican aide.
Failure to pass the American Health Care Act has fuelled worries about Trump's ability to deliver other parts of reforms such as tax, and big infrastructure spending.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14.89 points, or 0.07 percent, to 20,646.41, the S&P 500 lost 4.21 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,344.24 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 9.27 points, or 0.16 percent, to 5,812.37.
US Healthcare plan delayed
US President Donald Trump on Thursday failed to close a deal with Republican lawmakers on Thursday to dismantle Obamacare which was supposed to be his first legislative win.
Some Republican conservatives felt the new Trump-backed healthcare plan, formally called the American Health Care Act, did not go far enough, so the Bill was postponed indefinitely as negotiations continued into the evening, said a report.
SGX Nifty
The Nifty futures on the Singapore Stock Exchange were trading 22 points higher at 9,124 indicating a flat-to-positive opening for the domestic market.
India’s current account deficit widens
Current account deficit (CAD), the excess of India's imports of goods and services over exports in its external sector balance sheet, expanded to USD 7.9 billion during October-December, according to preliminary estimates released by the Reserve Bank of India.
This is marginally higher than the CAD of the same period last years- October-December'15 when the deficit was USD 7.1 billion. But as a percentage of GDP, the ratio is same in both periods at 1.4 percent of GDP.
One possible reason as highlighted by some is rising crude bill. While the trade deficit contracted in the same quarter, the country's crude import bill accounting for over 20 percent of the country's imports rose by about $1.7 billion (year-on-year) as global oil prices started firming up.
Bharti Airtel to buy Tikona's 4G business
Bharti Airtel will be in focus after the telecom operator said that it would buy internet services provider Tikona Digital Networks' 4G business in a deal worth Rs 1,600 crore or USD 244.20 million. The stock closed 0.3 percent lower at Rs 337.
Yes Bank launches QIP
Yes Bank on Thursday announced the launch of a USD 650 million Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) issue with an option to upsize to USD 750 million.
The country's fourth largest private lender set the floor price at Rs 1,498.95 per share based on Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-calculated average, with an indicative price band of Rs 1,455-1,500.00 per share.
Rupee closed weaker against USD
The rupee on Thursday pared gains and closed lower against the USD. The rupee closed at 65.53, down 0.14 per cent from its previous close of 65.44. The rupee opened at 65.41 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 65.38 and 65.57, respectively.
The rupee has rallied 3.65 per cent so far in the year 2017 while foreign institutional investors have bought $4.6 billion and $2.26 million from local equity and debt markets.
Shankara Building IPO oversubscribed on Day 2
The initial public offer of Shankara Building Products was oversubscribed till afternoon trade on the second day of the three-day bidding today.
The IPO received bids for 53,02,400 shares against the total issue size of 52,94,467 shares, data available with the NSE till 1200 hours showed. Bengaluru-based retailer Shankara Building Products on Tuesday raised Rs 103.5 crore from anchor investors.
Oil stuck near four-month low
Oil prices were hovering near four-month lows largely on concerns that OPEC-led supply cuts were not yet reducing record US crude inventories.
OPEC's largest producer, Saudi Arabia, expects crude exports to the United States in March will fall by around 300,000 barrels per day from February, in line with the supply cut agreement OPEC struck in November, Reuters said quoting a Saudi energy ministry official.
Benchmark Brent crude oil settled at $50.56 a barrel, down 8 cents on the day. On Wednesday, Brent slid as low as $49.71, its lowest since November 30 when OPEC announced plans to cut output.
PSU banks will be in focus
PSU banks will be in focus after the finance minister said that the government is going to announce a policy to push for the quick settlement of the non-performing assets (NPA) at banks in a 'couple of days', Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said at CNBC-TV18's IBLA Awards.
The decision will be taken in tandem with the Reserve Bank of India. Jaitley refused to reveal whether the policy would be along the lines of a 'bad bank' or super asset reconstruction companies (ARCs).
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