Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could gain 10.50 points at the opening bell.
Overseas, Asian shares were mostly higher. US stocks closed lower on Friday, 31 March 2017, as investors digested a slew of economic data. In economic news, personal income rose 0.4% in February, while consumer spending rose 0.1%.
Among global developments, US President Donald was quoted as saying that the US will take unilateral action to eliminate nuclear threats from North Korea, unless China, one of the hermit state's closest ally, intensifies pressure on Pyongyang. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in this week for a two-day meeting.
Closer home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 295.92 crore on Friday, 31 March 2017, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,499.41 crore on Friday, 31 March 2017, as per provisional data.
Among corporate news, shares of public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) will be in focus after Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) on Friday, 31 March 2017, announced decrease in selling price of petrol and diesel with effect from midnight of 31 March 2017. Petrol price was decreased by Rs 3.77 per litre and diesel price was reduced by Rs 2.91 a litre at Delhi (excluding state levies).
Indiabulls Housing Finance said that it has on Friday, 31 March 2017, allotted its fourteenth tranche of secured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) aggregating to Rs 37.5 crore. This was part of the company's proposal announced in November 2016, to issue, secured, redeemable, NCDs aggregating Rs 6000 crore, on a private placement basis. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 31 March 2017.
Among economic data, the output of eight core industries comprising nearly 38% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose at moderated pace of 1% in February 2017, compared with 3.4% growth recorded in January 2017. The data was released by the government after market hours on Friday, 31 March 2017.
Another data released after market hours on Friday, 31 March 2017 showed that India's external debt stock fell by $29 billion (6%) to $456.1 billion, at end-December 2016 over the level at end-March 2016. The decline in external debt during the period was due to the fall in long-term external debt, particularly the fall in NRI deposits reflecting the redemption of FCNR (B) deposits and decline in commercial borrowings with fall in both commercial bank loans and securitized borrowings. On a sequential basis, total external debt at end-December 2016 declined by $28.1 billion (5.8%) from the end-September 2016 level.
A bout of volatility was witnessed on Friday, 31 March 2017, as the S&P BSE Sensex settled lower after swinging between gains and losses in the intraday. The Sensex fell 26.92 points or 0.09% to settle at 29,620.50, its lowest closing level since 29 March 2017.
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