Benchmarks likely to make positive start amid strong global cues

Indian equity markets are likely to make positive start on Friday, tracking strong global cues after softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data boosted hopes of potential Federal Reserve rate cuts. Traders are likely to take support from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who were net buyers of equities worth Rs 595.78 crore on Thursday. 

Some of the key factors to be watched:

India, Oman ink free trade agreement: India and Oman have signed a historic free trade agreement, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sultan Haitham bin Tarik comprehensively reviewed the multi-faceted Strategic Partnership and reaffirmed their commitment to regional peace and stability.

India’s job market closed 2025 on a strong note: A private report indicated that India’s job market closed 2025 on a strong note, recording a 23% year-on-year increase in hiring activity. 

Government actively considering sugar MSP revision: Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said the government is actively considering a revision in the minimum support price (MSP) for sugar and other relief measures as the industry warns of a sharp rise in cane arrears from mid-January.

SEBI relaxes rules to allow issuers to sell debt securities at lower face value: Markets regulator Sebi has relaxed rules to allow issuers to sell debt securities at a lower face value of Rs 10,000 even if they are zero-coupon instruments, provided they have a fixed maturity and no structured obligations.

Stocks of food delivery platforms will be in focus: An NCAER-Prosus report said that India's food delivery platforms generated Rs 1.2 lakh crore in gross output in 2023-24 and have been expanding at a rate faster that of the overall economy, thus emerging as a powerful economic engine.

On the global front: The US markets ended in green on Thursday, following the release of a closely watched Labor Department unexpectedly showing a slowdown in the annual rate of consumer price growth. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Friday, following the positive cues from Wall Street overnight.

Back home, in a volatile day of trade, Indian equity benchmarks ended flat with negative bias on Thursday tracking a weak trend in global markets. Lack of progress in the India-US trade negotiations also kept investors cautious. However, a rebound in the rupee and signs of renewed foreign investor buying helped limit the downside. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 77.84 points or 0.09% to 84,481.81 and the CNX Nifty was down by 3.00 points or 0.01% to 25,815.55.  

Some of the important factors in trade:

Highway projects delayed: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that out of 574 delayed highway projects awarded in the last five years, 300 are facing delay of less than one year, 253 projects 1-3 years and 21 projects over 3 years.

India’s GDP to grow at 7.5% in FY26: With the help of robust domestic demand and steady macro fundamentals, CareEdge Ratings in its latest report has estimated India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at 7.5% in FY26 and 7.0% in FY27. 

FIIs turn net buyers after 14 sessions: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net buyers of Indian shares on Wednesday after 14 sessions of selling and bought equities worth Rs 1,171.71 crore, according to exchange data.