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SGX Nifty: Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 77 points at the opening bell. Global markets: Overseas, Asian stocks broadly advanced Friday ahead of the U.S. jobs report due later in the day that might provide some indication on what the Fed could do next. Investors will be looking ahead to the U.S. nonfarm payroll count for April due Friday. China's services sector expanded at the sharpest pace in four months in April. The Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 56.3, the highest since December when the same reading was registered and up from 54.3 in March. The 50-mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. Japan's services sector activity contracted in April. The final au Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 49.5 from the prior month's 48.3, the slowest pace of activity decline in the current 15-month run of contractionary PMIs. The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday the recent jump in COVID-19 cases in India posed downside risks to the Fund's April forecast for 12.5% growth in India's economic output in fiscal years 2021 and 2022. The IMF will revisit that forecast when it issues a fresh World Economic Outlook in July, as per reports. In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high on Thursday, bolstered by an upbeat weekly jobless claims report, while vaccine makers dipped after U.S. President Joe Biden backed plans to waive patents on COVID-19 shots. The Bank of England said on Thursday it would slow the pace of its bond-buying as it sharply increased its forecast for Britain's economic growth this year after its coronavirus slump. The BoE kept its benchmark interest rate at an all-time low of 0.1% and the size of its bond-buying programme unchanged at 895 billion pounds ($1.24 trillion). Domestic markets: Back home, equity indices ended with decent gains on Thursday, tracking positive global shares. US President Joe Biden's decision to waive intellectual property rights on vaccines boosted global stock markets. The S&P BSE Sensex, added 272.21 points or 0.56% to 48,949.76. The Nifty 50 index gained 106.95 points or 0.73% to 14,724.80. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,222.58 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 632.51 crore in the Indian equity market on 6 May, provisional data showed. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |