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Indian shares are set to open higher on Friday, tracking Asian peers with the benchmarks nearing record high levels after economic data from the U.S. hinted at a potential delay in further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore Exchange were up 0.24% at 18,804.50, as of 8:15 a.m. IST.

Wall Street equities closed higher on Thursday after data showed retail sales unexpectedly rose in May, indicating strength in consumer spending in the world's largest economy.

The weekly jobless claims remained unchanged, but were above expectations, signalling a tight labour market, which may delay further rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Fed had left rates unchanged on Wednesday, ahead of the jobs data, but hinted at the possibility of more hikes later this year.

European markets closed lower after the European Central Bank raised rates by 25 basis points on Thursday. Asian equities opened higher ahead of the Bank of Japan's rate decision on Friday. [MKTS/GLOB]

Indian shares snapped a three-day winning streak on Thursday, dragged by high-weightage financials and information technology stocks as the markets took a breather after the Fed's hawkish pause on Wednesday.

Both benchmarks were about 1% shy of their all-time highs. The Nifty 50 and the Sensex are on course to extend gains for the fourth week if they manage to hold on to them on Friday. The midcap index closed at a fresh all-time high on Thursday, while the smallcap index hit a new 52-week high.

Analysts said the sentiment remained upbeat due to stable macroeconomic fundamentals and sustained buying by foreign institutional investors (FII) though they cautioned of consolidation persisting over the next few weeks.

FIIs bought 30.86 billion rupees ($377 million) worth of Indian equities on a net basis on Thursday, while domestic investors sold 2.98 billion rupees of shares, as per provisional NSE data.

STOCKS TO WATCH

** TVS Motor Company: Co sells entire stake in Emerale Haven Realty for 1.67 billion rupees.

** Natco Pharma: Co successfully completes U.S. FDA inspection and receives Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) for its facility in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

** Samvardhana Motherson: Co's international unit to buy 100% stake in Cirma Enterprise from Vinci Energies France; deal valued at 7.2 million euros

** BHEL: Co and Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles to collaborate to develop type-IV cylinders (Hydrogen or CNG) in commercial vehicle (CV) segment.

($1 = 81.9603 Indian Rupees)