India’s equity benchmarks are expected to open little changed on Friday as investors weigh the newly signed trade pact with Britain, which will cut tariffs of goods ranging from textiles to whisky and cars.
The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,993.5 points as of 8:04 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 will open near Thursday’s close of 25,062.1.
“Signing of the India-UK FTA, which is expected to boost bilateral trade by about $34 billion annually, is hugely significant in the present context when India is eager to reach a deal with the U.S. on trade and tariffs,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments.
Shares of textiles, automakers, leather, footwear and other companies will be in focus as UK exports become duty-free.
While the India-UK agreement should boost sentiment, the market is unlikely to see major upside until there is clarity on U.S. trade negotiations, analysts said.
India is making “fantastic” progress in talks with Washington, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told Reuters on Thursday, but played down the importance of deadlines.
Earlier this week, two Indian government sources said prospects for an interim deal before U.S. President Donald Trump’s August 1 deadline had dimmed amid deadlock over tariff cuts on key agricultural and dairy products.
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