Indian shares are set to open higher on Friday after Finance Secretary RS Gujral said the government will come out with a "certain clarification" on indirect transfer of assets by foreign investors that had generated a lot of controversy. Various media reports suggest that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is also serving as Finance Minister, is keen to uphold the Vodafone case in an effort to send out the right signal to foreign institutional investors.
Meanwhile, risks to the Indian financial system have increased over the past six months because of the European debt crisis, a widening current account deficit and growing perceptions of policy paralysis, the Reserve Bank of India said in its fifth Financial Stability Report.
With developments in Europe taking center stage, Asian markets are trading on a mixed note while oil rebounded after tumbling to an almost nine-month low overnight. U.S. jobless claims fell 6000 to 386000 but were still higher than anticipated, while the U.S. economic activity grew 1.9 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, in line with expectations, overnight data showed.
U.S. stocks saw significant weakness before ending modestly lower overnight, as investors reacted negatively to the Supreme Court's decision to uphold President Obama's healthcare reform law, including the law's individual insurance mandate.
Lingering concerns about the financial situation in Europe also weighed on markets as EU leaders gathered for a two-day summit to find a solution to prevent the debt crisis from escalating. The tech-heavy Nasdaq underperformed its counterparts, ending the session down 0.9 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 slid about 0.2 percent each.
Back home, continued expectations of government action to revive domestic growth helped Indian shares shrug off weak global cues on Thursday. Notwithstanding diminishing EU summit hopes and the F&O expiry, the benchmark BSE Sensex ended a volatile session up 23 points or 0.14 percent at 16,991, while the broader Nifty index rose by 7 points or 0.14 percent to 5,149.
In corporate news, Tata Power announced that it has acquired a 51 percent stake in Tata BP Solar India. Consequently, Tata BP Solar India is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.
Mudra Lifestyle said the proposal of the company for restructuring of outstanding institutional debt has been approved by the Empowered Group of CDR cell.
Cairn Energy is reportedly selling 66 million shares or 3.5 percent of its stake in Cairn India unit in a deal worth about Rs.2,100 crore.
Bliss GVS Pharma said that it has acquired 70 percent management stake in Kremoint Pharma Private.
Arshiya International announced the withdrawal of Arshiya Central FTWZ from scheme of amalgamation with Arshiya International.
by RTT Staff Writer
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