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Sensex, Nifty Set To Open On Firm Note As Oil Prices Plunge

Indian shares may open on a positive note Friday, with underlying sentiment likely to be underpinned by falling oil prices, firm global cues and continued optimism that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will adopt more policies to support slowing growth in Asia's third-biggest economy.

The upside, however, may remain limited ahead of fourth-quarter GDP data, due out later in the day.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures dropped 1 percent in Asian trading after plummeting nearly 4 percent on Thursday amid rising worries about a likely drop in energy demand due to the impact of the ongoing trade spat between the U.S. and China on the global economy.

Prime Minister Modi and his Council of Ministers took oath to office on Thursday. The Union Cabinet for the 17th Lok Sabha includes 24 cabinet ministers, 9 ministers of state with independent charge and 24 ministers of state.

Amit Shah is being widely considered as the frontrunner for the finance minister after former finance minister Arun Jaitley opted out of the government due to health reasons.

Benchmark indexes Snesex and the Nifty jumped around 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively on Thursday, while the rupee fell marginally by 4 paise to close at 69.87 against the dollar, extending losses for a third straight day.

Asian stocks are trading mixed this morning, as trade worries persisted and Chinese manufacturing data for May fell short of expectations.

Trade tensions appear to be escalating after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that fresh tariffs would be slapped on all Mexican goods starting from June 10.

In another development, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence warned China that the U.S. could more than double tariffs if needed.

A report from Bloomberg News indicated China has put purchases of U.S. soybeans on hold.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before finishing higher overnight, as Treasuries turned higher and data showed healthy GDP growth in the first quarter.

U.S. Q1 GDP growth was revised down to 3.1 percent from 3.2 percent on weaker business investment but topped forecasts for 3.0 percent.

The Dow and the S&P 500 edged up around 0.2 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3 percent.

European markets also ended mostly higher on Thursday as investors searched for bargains after recent losses.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.4 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index, France's CAC 40 index and the German DAX index all rose by 0.5 percent.

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Market Analysis

Inflation data from the U.S. garnered maximum attention this week on the economics front, along with the interest rate decision by the European Central Bank. Read our stories to find out how these two key events are set to influence monetary policy in the months ahead. Other main news from the U.S. were the release of the minutes of the latest Fed policy session and the jobless claims data. Elsewhere, the interest rate decision by the Bank of Canada was also in focus.

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