The Indian equity benchmarks, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, are set to surge in opening trade on Friday, tracking firm cues from Asian peers which surged following a strong finish on Wall Street overnight. The positive trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a gap-up opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 144 points, or 0.9%, higher at 16,277 on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:10 AM. The trends in crude markets and foreign fund flows would also set the tone for the domestic bourses. Investors will keep an eye on IT stocks as index heavyweight TCS is set to kick-off earnings season by releasing its first-quarter earnings by the end of the day.

On Thursday, the Indian share market ended higher for the second consecutive day, supported by a surge in buying across metal, consumer durables, and banking & financial space as well as positive global cues. The S&P BSE Sensex surged 427 points, or 0.80%, to settle at 54,178 points, with 23 of the 30 scrips closing in the green zone. The broader Nifty 50 of the NSE ended 143 points, or 0.89%, higher at 16,133 points. In the Sensex pack, Titan Company surged the most by rising 5.69% on strong quarterly sales numbers. Tata Steel gained nearly 5%, followed by L&T, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and State Bank of India.

Stocks to watch

TCS: The IT bellwether will release its June quarter earnings post market hours today. The country’s largest software exporter is expected to post constant currency (CC) revenue growth in the range of 2.5-4.5% on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis. The margins are seen contracting on a quarterly basis due to wage hikes and the continued rationalisation of employee costs amid high attrition despite the industry continuing to add record freshers.

Tata Motors: The auto major’s UK-based subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported sales volumes at 78,825 units June quarter of 2022, down 37% on a year-on-year basis. The sales were impacted by the global chip shortage and the Covid lockdowns in China.

Power Finance Corporation (PFC): The state-owned company has signed a loan pact for JPY 30 billion with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to finance its renewable energy portfolio.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone: The board of directors of the company have approved the appointment of D Muthukumaran as the chief financial officer and key managerial personnel of the company, with effect from July 25.

Alkem Laboratories: The drug maker has received Form 483 with one observation from the U.S. drug regulator for its products to be manufactured at Indore plant. The US FDA had conducted a good manufacturing practice (GMP) and pre-approval inspection at a manufacturing facility in Indore between July 1-7.

Vakrangee: The company’s profit fell sharply to ₹4.53 crore in Q1FY23, from ₹23.33 crore in corresponding period last fiscal, as margins were impacted primarily due to the launch of additional franchisee incentive schemes.

HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank: These three private banks have received approval from the ministry of defence to provide financial services in overseas procurement done by the department.

Here are the key things investors should know before the market opens today:

Wall Street ends higher on Tech boost

In the overnight trade, all the three U.S. indices closed higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rising for the fourth consecutive sessions as investors' appetite for riskier assets improved amid a less hawkish tone by the Federal Reserve in the last policy meeting. The minutes from the US Federal Reserve's June meeting hinted that the central bank would continue its rate hike program to curb inflation, but it would be less aggressive in interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%, and the S&P 500 gained 1.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite settled 2.2% higher, led by Tesla and Google parent Alphabet.

Asian stocks follow Wall Street higher

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region traded mostly higher in early trade on Friday, tracking a strong finish on Wall Street overnight, while European indices jumped after the British Prime Minister's resignation. Investors digested minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's June policy meeting, which indicated the central bank’s firm stand on rate hike to control inflation even if it derails economic growth.

Regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 1.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong added 0.6%. Similarly, South Korea’s Kospi surged 1.2%, Taiwan Weighted index jumped 1.5%, and Australia’s ASX 200 climbed 0.6%.

Bucking the trend, the Straits Times Index in Singapore was down 0.1%.

Markets in mainland China also witnessed buying in early trade, with the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component rising 0.1% each.

FIIs resume selling spree

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued the selling spree for the second day, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) extended support to the equity market, showed data released on July 7. As per the exchange data, FIIs net sold shares worth ₹925.22 crore, while DIIs net purchased shares worth ₹980.59 crore.

Corporate results

IT major TCS will officially launch the June quarter earnings season by announcing its June quarter results today. Among others, Kohinoor Foods, MMTC, Spectrum Foods, and Brahmaputra Infrastructure will also release quarterly earnings during the day.

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