Market is seen opening higher, tracking overnight gains on the Wall Street on hopes of a halt in the China-US trade conflicts. Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 44.50 points at the opening bell.

On the economic front, India's exports rose by 17.86% to $26.98 billion in October mainly due to the low base effect even as trade deficit widened to $17.13 billion, according to the commerce ministry data. Imports during October also rose by 17.62% to $44.11 billion, leading to widening of trade deficit to $17.13 billion. The deficit widened despite a steep decline of 42.9% in gold imports to $1.68 billion during the month under review. The trade gap was $14.61 billion in October 2017.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 2043.06 crore on 15 November 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 165.31 crore on 15 November 2018, as per provisional data.

Domestic stocks settled with modest gains yesterday, 15 November 2018, following recent weakness in crude oil prices. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 118.55 points or 0.34% to settle at 35,260.54. The Nifty 50 index rose 40.40 points or 0.38% to settle at 10,616.70.

Overseas, Asian shares were mixed amid fresh uncertainties emerging from the UK overnight after multiple important ministers resigned from Prime Minister Theresa May's government.

The UK was thrust into political turmoil on Thursday following a spate of resignations from Prime Minister Theresa May's government, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, who said he could not accept the deal after the promises the ruling Conservative Party made to the country in an election manifesto last year.

US stocks snapped a multi-day skid, finishing higher on Thursday buoyed by renewed hopes the US and China can strike a compromise on trade. Cautious optimism took hold following a report that the US may back off from its belligerent stance against China on trade while solid economic data offset underwhelming earnings from Walmart Inc.

A media report suggested that the US and China may step up efforts to resolve their trade conflict, starting with postponing higher tariffs and allowing working level negotiators to iron out a deal.

On the US data front, first-time jobless claims for the week ending 10 November 2018 rose 2,000 to 216,000 in the week ended 10 November 2018. The Philly Fed index dropped 9.3 points to 12.9, a three-month low. The Empire State index rose 2.2 points to 23.3 in November.