The Indian markets are expected to start Friday’s session on a muted note amid mixed cues from global markets. The markets on Thursday remained range bound on the weekly expiry day and settled almost unchanged. 

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The Nifty and Sensex oscillated in a narrow band and settled flat at 18,315.10 and 61,904.52 levels, respectively, yesterday. Most sectors traded in sync with the benchmark and ended flat; however, selective buying in banking, financials, and FMCG kept the traders busy.

“Markets have been maintaining a positive tone but a mixed trend across index majors is capping the momentum. We thus reiterate our view to focus on stock selection and trade management,” Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking said in his comment.

In the absence of any major event, the performance of the global markets and earnings will remain in focus for cues, the market analyst added.

Stay tuned to Zeebiz.com to find out what could impact your trade today. We have collated a list of the top 10 news points which could impact markets, companies, or the economy:

Wall Street:

The US stock market closed mixed as Dow and the S&P 500 ended lower on Thursday, dragged down by Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) as it lost subscribers, while PacWest (PACW.O) led declines in regional banks after posting a drop in deposits.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 221.82 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 33,309.51; the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 7.02 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 4,130.62; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 22.07 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 12,328.51.

Asian Markets:

Most Asian stocks were mixed during the early morning session on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei was up nearly 1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat with negative bias, South Korea’s Kospi dipped more than 0.5 per cent and China’s Shanghai was also down marginally by 0.1 per cent today.

SGX Nifty:

Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty — an early indicator of the Nifty 50 index — was down 54 points or 0.29 per cent at 18,296.5 at this hour on Friday, suggesting a weak start ahead in the Indian share market today. It opened at 18,282 and touched the day’s high at 18,389.5 levels.

Rupee falls 15 paise vs $

The rupee depreciated by 15 paise to close at 82.09 against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking a strong American currency and rising crude oil prices in overseas markets.

Besides, negative sentiments in the equity markets also dragged down the local unit.

Dollar index rises

The US dollar rose against the euro and sterling on Thursday and set a more than one-week high against a basket of its major peers as traders sought safety after a series of economic data prompted a reassessment of their outlook for global monetary policy.

The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against six major peers, rose 0.7 per cent to 102.06, its highest showing in more than a week.

Crude oil falls

Crude oil prices fell about 2 per cent to a one-week low on Thursday as a political standoff over the US debt ceiling stoked recession jitters in the world's biggest oil consumer while rising U.S. jobless claims and weak Chinese economic data weighed.

Brent crude futures fell $1.43, or 1.9 per cent, to settle at $74.98 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell $1.69, or 2.3 per cent, to settle at $70.87.

Q4 results update

Index heavyweight such as Tata Group auto company Tata Motors is expected to announce its March quarter earnings along with other broader market firms like Cipla, Manappuram Finance, Polycab India, Colgate Palmolive, HPCL, HAL and among others on Friday.

On Thursday, large-cap firms like Eicher Motors, Asian Paints along with other broader market companies released their Q4 results for the previous fiscal.

April CPI and March IIP data today

India's headline retail inflation or Consumer Price Index (CPI) is expected to ease in April, similarly, Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for March is likely to improve, according to analysts. The government is scheduled to release both these macroeconomic data today around 5:00 PM.

US default would threaten global economy: Yellen

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday urged Congress to raise the $31.4 trillion federal debt limit and avert an unprecedented default that would trigger a global economic downturn and risk undermining U.S. global economic leadership.

Yellen issued the latest in a series of increasingly stark warnings in remarks prepared for a press conference ahead of a meeting in Japan with her counterparts from the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations, as well as India, Indonesia and Brazil.

FII & DII Data

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers for Rs 837.21 crore in the Indian markets while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 200.09 crore on Thursday, provisional data showed on the NSE.

(With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies)