India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were up 0.33% at 17,649.50 as of 7:56 a.m. IST.
Wall Street equities ended in positive territory overnight, with the S&P 500 snapping a four-session losing streak, even as economic data demonstrated the strength of the U.S. economy and heightened chances of the Federal Reserve continuing with its tight monetary policy stance.
Weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week, according to official data on Thursday, reflecting the tight labour market in the world's largest economy.
Asian markets were mixed, with the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan falling 0.50%. [MKTS/GLOB]
Foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded a net 14.17 billion rupees ($171.57 million) worth of equities on Thursday, while domestic investors purchased a net 15.86 billion rupees worth of Indian shares.
Indian shares fell for the fifth session in a row on Thursday, with the benchmark Nifty 50 losing nearly 2.5% this week so far, on track for the worst week in three months.
Analysts expect Indian equities to consolidate with no major directional moves in the next few months, until clarity emerges on the Fed's rate hike trajectory.
STOCKS TO WATCH ** Zee Entertainment: Co's chief executive Punit Goenka challenges insolvency proceedings initiated by India's bankruptcy court
** Sanofi India: Co reports rise in net profit in the December quarter, approves final dividend of 194 rupees per share and second special dividend of 183 rupees per share
** Alkem Laboratories: Co says U.S. drug regulator issued an establishment inspection report (EIR) for Indore facilities and closed the inspection.
** Bharat Forge: Co approves transfer of stake in Aeron Systems to its subsidiary Kalyani Strategic Systems
** Axis Bank: Lender estimates completion of Citi deal by March 1
($1 = 82.5900 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)
By Bharath Rajeswaran
