SGX Nifty indicates positive opening for Indian markets; key things to know before opening bell

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Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 24 points at the opening bell. Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mixed on Friday as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole symposium and geopolitical tension over Afghanistan.

Profits at China’s industrial firms grew at a slower rate of 16.4% on year to 703.67 billion yuan ($108.6 billion) in July, the statistics bureau said on Friday, as elevated commodity prices and supply chain constraints from extreme weather weighed on the sector. The July growth rate compared with a 20% gain in the previous month. The pace of growth has been slowing for five consecutive months.

In the US, the S&P 500 fell from a record on Thursday as investors awaited more details on the Federal Reserve’s plan to pull back on monetary stimulus from the central bank’s annual symposium on Friday. Traders were also eying new developments in Afghanistan, which added to the risk-off sentiment. The Pentagon reportedly confirmed 12 US service members were killed and 15 wounded after two explosions went off outside the Kabul airport Thursday.

On the data front, weekly initial jobless claims came in at 353,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday, a slight increase from the prior week’s 349,000. Economic growth totalled 6.6% in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department’s second reading released on Thursday. That was a slight revision upward from the 6.5% annual increase previously reported.

The highly anticipated Jackson Hole symposium from the Fed will be held virtually this year on Friday, with many central bank speakers making remarks to the media beginning Thursday. At the event, central bankers could provide updates on their plan around tapering the Fed’s monthly bond purchases.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is slated to make remarks on Friday as part of the central bank’s summit. The Fed has been purchasing at least $120 billion of bonds per month to bolster the economy in reaction to the pandemic.

Domestic markets: Back home, the domestic equity barometers ended flat with some positive bias on Thursday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 4.89 points or 0.01% to 55,949.10. The Nifty 50 index added 2.25 points or 0.01% to 16,636.90. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,974.48 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,055.21 crore in the Indian equity market on 26 August, provisional data showed.