SGX Nifty:

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 5 points at the opening bell.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading on Friday after positive U.S. economic data and signs of progress in stimulus talks in Washington lifted Wall Street benchmarks.

In US, shares on Wall Street ended higher on Thursday in choppy trading, as investors cheered the prospect of more fiscal stimulus to support a pandemic-damaged U.S. economy, with more data pointing to a slowing labor market recovery.

U.S. lawmakers were still trying to hammer out a roughly $2 trillion stimulus deal late on Thursday, with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying that she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had not spoken during the day. However, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow cautioned “significant policy differences” remained, which were unlikely to be resolved before the November 3 election.

Meanwhile, the final presidential debate involving United States President and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump and his rival from the Democratic Party Joe Biden, is underway. The debate will span 90 minutes and involve topics such as fighting COVID-19, climate change, national security and the two candidates' leadership record. This debate serves as the last opportunity for millions of voters to directly compare the two leading candidates' policies and personalities.

On the data front, the Labor Department said weekly jobless claims fell to 787,000 for the week ending October 17. It was the second time since March that claims came in below 800,000.

On the coronavirus front, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Gilead Sciences' antiviral drug remdesivir for the virus. The intravenous drug has helped shorten the recovery time of some hospitalized Covid-19 patients.

Domestic markets:

Back home, key equity indices ended with modest losses after a volatile session on Thursday. The Nifty ended below the 11,900 mark. Markets witnessed volatility due to expiry of weekly index options on the NSE. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 148.82 points or 0.37% at 40,558.49. The Nifty 50 index lost 41.20 points or 0.35% to 11,896.45.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,118.46 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,019.87 crore in the Indian equity market on 22 October, provisional data showed.