Asian stocks are higher today as Chinese and Hong Kong shares show gains. The Shanghai Composite is up 0.17% while the Hang Seng is up 0.95%. The Nikkei 225 is trading up by 0.4%. Meanwhile, The Dow and S&P 500 advanced on Thursday to halt a two-session losing skid, buoyed by gains in industrial and energy shares as US Treasury yields eased, while the Nasdaq lost ground for a third straight session.

Back home, India share markets opened the day on a positive note. The BSE Sensex is trading higher by 106 points while the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 18 points. The BSE Mid Cap index and BSE Small Cap index both opened the day up by 0.3%.

All sectoral indices have opened the day in green with metal stocks and healthcare stocks witnessing maximum buying interest. The rupee is trading at 65.05 to the US$.

In the news from the economy. Ahead of the release of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data by Central Statistics Office, the State Bank of India (SBI) Research in its latest report said that Indian economy is likely to grow in the range of 6.5-7% during the third quarter of the current fiscal year 2017-18.

As per the report, the country’s economy in fourth quarter of FY18 may grow by 7%. Besides, the country’s GDP grew by 6.3% in Q2 FY18, up from 5.7% in the Q1 FY18.

The report also expects that manufacturing Gross Value Added (GVA) would be in the range of 8-10% for the Q3 FY18, if the current trend persists for remaining companies also. It added that a synchronised global growth coupled with an uptick in commodity cycle will also help sectors like metals, textiles and sugar.

However, the report warned that the recent developments in the financial markets may restrict the further growth of the Indian economy.

Besides, the financial markets have been impacted following a Rs 114 billion fraud at India’s second largest bank Punjab National Bank (PNB).