GIFT Nifty pointed to a flat start near Wednesday’s close, with Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank earnings in focus as crude hovered near one-month highs.
Indian shares were set to open little changed on Friday, with GIFT Nifty futures at 24,091 at 7:45 a.m. IST indicating the Nifty 50 could start slightly above Wednesday’s close of 24,072.75. Investors are awaiting earnings from heavyweight companies including Reliance Industries after the market closes, while HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are due to report over the weekend, developments analysts say could drive the market’s next directional move given their large index weightings. Brent crude rose 1.3% to $85.30 a barrel after renewed U.S.-Iran clashes across the Gulf, keeping oil near one-month highs and sentiment cautious. The Nifty 50 has held above its 20-day exponential moving average but has repeatedly faced resistance near 24,200, trading in a 23,800-24,600 range over the past month as investors assessed Middle East tensions, monsoon progress and corporate earnings. Information technology shares will also be watched after Wipro missed quarterly earnings estimates and flagged a weak recovery, while Tech Mahindra beat quarterly revenue expectations, aided by manufacturing growth and a weaker rupee. Foreign portfolio investors sold Indian equities worth a net 42.06 billion rupees on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors bought a net 29.86 billion rupees, according to provisional NSE data.