Indian shares are seen opening largely unchanged on Friday, as investors await consumer inflation and factory output data later in the session for clues on the outlook for interest rates and the health of the economy.
Indian shares eased on Thursday, as investors adopted a cautious stance following three days of successive gains. The BSE Sensex ended a lackluster session down 51 points or 0.26 percent at 18,838, while the broader Nifty index fell 19 points or 0.32 percent to 6,050. The rupee fell by nine paise to hit a one-week low of 54.25 against the dollar hurt by heavy demand for the U.S. currency for oil and gold related payments.
In corporate news, Energy giant Reliance Industries said it plans to invest over $5 billion in a series of projects in the KG-D6 block to reverse the trend of falling gas and crude oil output.
Telecom stocks could be in focus after RIL subsidiary Reliance JioInfocomm said it has finalized key agreements with technology partners and device manufacturers to provide reliable fast internet connectivity on a pan-India basis.
Drug major Novartis India said its Swiss parent Novartis AG has appointed Citigroup Capital Markets as the broker for the proposed share sale to reduce stake in the Indian entity.
Fair trade regulator Competition Commission has initiated a probe against five entities, including drug maker Cipla, to investigate allegations of anti-competitive practices.
Asian Markets
Asian stocks are trading mixed, with Japan's Nikkei index rallying 2.8 percent to a fresh five-year high as the yen weakened further in Asian trading after breaching the Y100 mark overnight for the first time in four years. The yen's renewed strength weighed on South Korean exporters, dragging the benchmark Kospi average down about 0.9 percent. Australia's All Ordinaries is gaining 0.4 percent and China's Shanghai Composite index is moving up 0.3 percent, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down 0.1 percent.
In economic releases, official data showed that Japan posted a current account surplus of 1.25 trillion yen in March - holding in the green for the second straight month after three consecutive months of deficit. The headline figure beat forecasts for a surplus of 1.22 trillion yen following the surplus of 637 billion yen in February.
U.S. And European Markets
U.S. stocks ended lower in choppy trading overnight despite stronger-than-expected report on jobless claims. Investors paused for breath following the recent strength in the markets which took the S&P 500 to record closing highs for five straight sessions. The Dow slipped 0.2 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged down 0.1 percent and the S&P 500 dropped 0.4 percent.
A report from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell to a new five-year low in the week ended May 4th. Jobless claims edged down to 323,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 327,000, surprising economists who had expected claims to climb to 335,000.
European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday, as investors weighed higher-than-expected Chinese inflation numbers versus surprising strength in the U.S. labor market. France's CAC 40 dropped 0.7 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and the German DAX edged up 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. The Bank of England left rates on hold and decided against pumping more stimulus into the U.K.'s fragile economy amid tentative signs of a recovery.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.