BENGALURU: Indian shares are set to open higher on Friday on improved sentiment following robust economic data from the US, which eased fears of a slowdown. India’s NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore Exchange were up 0.46% at 19,147.50, as of 08:21 a.m. IST.

India’s blue-chip Nifty 50 and Sensex indexes rallied to record highs on Wednesday, lifted by the gains in some Adani group stocks and heavyweight financials.

“Improved corporate balance sheet strength, stability in financial system have aided growth, said Christy Mathai, fund manager - equity at Quantum AMC.

“Investors could be better off staying invested and maintaining their equity allocation in line with long-term allocation plans.” The Nifty 50 has risen 1.64% so far in this truncated week and is on course for the best week in two months. Domestic markets were closed on Thursday for a local holiday.

Wall Street equities closed higher overnight as sentiment improved on strong economic data.

Indian shares edge up, HDFC Life leads gains

An upward revision in first-quarter GDP, surprise fall in jobless claims and positive results from US Federal Reserve’s stress test helped eased recession fears.

However, the data bolstered the view that the Fed may keep interest rates higher for longer. Asian markets were mixed as lackluster industrial output data from China cast a shadow.

On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors bought 123.50 billion rupees ($1.50 billion) of Indian equities on a net basis, while domestic investors sold 10.21 billion rupees of shares, as per provisional NSE data.