GIFT Nifty:

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the GIFT Nifty indicates that the Nifty could rise 22 points at the opening bell.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading higher bolstered by a slew of China's economic data for August mostly came in better than market expectations.

China's retail sales and industrial production picked up in August, with better-than-expected growth, according to National Bureau of Statistics data released Friday. Retail sales grew by 4.6% in August from a year ago. The increase was also faster than the 2.5% year-on-year pace in July. Industrial production also rose by 4.5% in August from a year ago, faster than the 3.7% increase reported for July. Fixed asset investment, however, grew by 3.2% year-on-year in August on a year-to-date basis. That was slower than the 3.4% pace reported as of July.

US stocks ended higher as core producer price index in the U.S. climbed by 0.2% in August, in line with expectations. The overall producer price index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7%, the biggest monthly gain since June 2022.

The European Central Bank decided to hike interest rates once again on Thursday. The ECB opted to increase rates by 25 basis points, a 10th consecutive hike taking its main rate to 4%.

Domestic markets:

Back home, frontline indices saw marginal gains on Thursday amid volatility. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex added 52.01 points or 0.08% to 67,519. The Nifty 50 index gained 33.10 points or 0.16% to 20,103.10.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 294.69 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 50.80 crore in the Indian equity market on 14 September, provisional data showed.