Indian benchmark indexes were modestly higher early Friday as a Reuters report put Brent above $117 and investors awaited results from Reliance Industries and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (Sun Pharma).
At 12:04 a.m. ET (9:34 a.m. IST), Hindustan Times reported the Sensex at 74,289.81, up 138.77 points from Thursday’s close, and the Nifty 50 at 22,967.10. Hindustan Times described the Nifty’s rise as 38.95 points, but that level was 30.35 points above the National Stock Exchange of India’s Oct. 29 close of 22,936.75. Financial Express later reported the Sensex at 74,288.12, up 137.08 points, and the Nifty at 22,969.65, up 32.90 points, at 12:31 a.m. ET (10:01 a.m. IST).
Hindustan Times separately reported that the IT index gained 1.8% early in the session. The previous session was stronger: on Thursday, the Nifty added 1.05% to 22,936.75, and the Sensex rose 1.24% to 74,151.04. The Nifty gained 237.90 points, while the Sensex advanced 905.01 points. Reuters linked Thursday’s advance to strong quarterly results among index constituents and the Federal Reserve’s rate decision.
The Federal Open Market Committee kept the federal funds target range at 3.75% to 4% in a 10-2 vote on Oct. 28. Brent readings differed across reports: Reuters put futures at $117.40 a barrel, up 2.2%, while Financial Express reported $111.29 at 9:47 p.m. ET Thursday (7:17 a.m. IST Friday).
Reuters linked the oil rise to Houthi claims of attacks in Saudi Arabia; The Associated Press said it could not independently verify the claims. V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, told NDTV Profit, “The crude oil headwind is getting stronger with Brent rising above $117.”
Reliance Industries’ Oct. 27 filing scheduled a board meeting for Friday to consider results for the quarter and half year ended Sept. 30. Sun Pharma said it would announce second-quarter results and hold an earnings call at 9 a.m. ET (6:30 p.m. IST).
