Sensex, Nifty may open lower

• Follow

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 45 points at the opening bell. Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mixed on Friday, following overnight losses on Wall Street. The Bank of Japan is due to announce its monetary policy decision today. U.S. stocks slid on Thursday as weakness among large tech stocks dragged down major market averages.

President Joe Biden signed a debt ceiling increase into law Thursday, ensuring the U.S. will not default on its debt for the first time ever. The measure lifts the government’s borrowing limit by $2.5 trillion, which is expected to allow the U.S. to cover its obligations into 2023.

The Bank of England hiked interest rates on Thursday for the first time since the pandemic started. It raised its main interest rate from a historic low of 0.1% to 0.25% amid mounting inflation pressure.

The European Central Bank further cut its bond purchases overnight but vowed to continue its unprecedented monetary policy support for the eurozone economy into 2022. It left the benchmark refinancing rate unchanged at 0%, while the rate on its marginal lending facility remained at 0.25%.

Domestic markets

Back home, the benchmark indices snapped four-day losing trend on Thursday amid positive global cues. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 113.11 points or 0.20% at 57,901.14. The Nifty 50 index gained 27 points or 0.16% at 17,248.40.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,468.71 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,533.15 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 December, provisional data showed.