Indian shares set for lackluster open; HDFC Bank in focus
Indian shares are set for a muted opening on Friday, with top private lender HDFC Bank's softer loan growth numbers likely to continue to drag financials down.
The GIFT Nifty was trading at 24,340 as of 8:20 a.m. IST, indicating the Nifty 50 will open near its Thursday's close of 24,302.15, which was an all-time closing high.
Both Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex have added about 1.25% this week. If weekly gains hold, it will be the fifth straight week of gains for both the benchmarks, their longest weekly winning streak in 2024.
"The overall trend of Nifty remains positive," said Nagaraj Shetti, senior research analyst at HDFC Securities.
However, with the markets trading at record highs, there is a "possibility of consolidation or a minor dip extending in the coming sessions," Shetti added.
Top constituent in both the blue-chip indexes HDFC Bank, which has risen 2.57% this week, will be in focus.
On Thursday, the lender weighed on the blue-chip indexes and pulled financials down with it, ahead of posting quarterly updates. It said gross advances declined 0.8% sequentially in June quarter, in its business update post closing bell on Thursday.
Asian peers were marginally higher, on the day. U.S. markets were closed overnight. [MKTS/GLOB]
Domestic investors sold Indian shares worth 23.75 billion rupees (about $284.5 million) on a net basis on Thursday, while foreign investors net bought stocks worth 25.76 billion rupees, per exchange data.
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Raymond: Company approves demerger of its real estate arm, Raymond Realty subject to approval of shareholders and regulators.
** IDBI Bank: Lender says total deposits rose 13% year-on-year in June quarter.
** Punjab National Bank: Bank's global deposits rose 8.5% year-on-year in June quarter.
** Ircon International: Company's joint venture gets a 7.51 billion rupees worth order from Rail Vikas Nigam for installation of tracks in Uttarakhand.
($1 = 83.4940 Indian rupees)
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