Indian Shares Poised for Higher Open After Three-Session Slide; IT Stocks in Focus

Indian shares are seen opening higher on Friday after benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell around 0.6 percent and half a percent, respectively, on Thursday, extending losses to a third consecutive session. Information technology stocks are expected to draw attention after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 6.7 percent to a near three-month low overnight, following weak earnings from Meta Platforms and Tesla. Broader sentiment remains fragile as Brent crude topped $112 a barrel on Thursday and traded almost 1 percent higher above $114 in early Asian trade, heading for a third weekly gain after Houthi strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure and Red Sea ports raised supply-disruption fears. The rupee settled 44 paise lower at 94.82 against the dollar, snapping an eight-session winning streak. Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 3,458.70 crore on a net basis on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors net bought Rs 2,891.32 crore. The RBI's October MPC minutes indicated further rate increases may be needed to contain food-driven inflation.