Indian shares set to open higher; Fed chair speech, closing auction volatility in focus

Business Recorder reported that Indian shares are likely to start higher on Friday, following a pair of losing sessions. GIFT Nifty futures stood at 24,262 points at 7:56 a.m. IST, pointing to a firmer open for the Nifty 50, which ended Thursday at 24,090.85. The index has slipped 1% across the last two sessions and is on course for a third consecutive weekly decline as pricier crude and rising Treasury yields have pressured global risk assets.

Trading has been erratic around the new closing auction mechanism. On Thursday, the Sensex briefly fell more than 3% in the indicative close before trimming some of those losses to finish 0.7% lower. Derivatives turnover on the BSE index fell to an 11-month low for a monthly expiry session, while option premiums on the Sensex contracts expiring that day jumped abnormally.

Overseas investors were net sellers of Indian equities on Thursday, to the tune of 2.98 billion rupees or $31.19 million, based on provisional figures. Even so, their purchases in August reached $3.15 billion, the strongest monthly figure since September 2024, and year-to-date outflows narrowed to $24 billion. Investors are also looking ahead to Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech, while Brent crude hovered near $89 a barrel as mediators press for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen.