Stock market today: On Friday, the key Indian equity indexes, the BSE Sensex and Nifty50, started lower than usual.With the BSE Sensex down 100 points, the Nifty50 was trading at 22,375. The BSE Sensex was down 39 points, or 0.053%, at 73,624.42 at 9:20 AM. The Nifty50 was down 16 points, or 0.070%, at 22,388.25.

The Thursday afternoon session saw a spectacular comeback by the equity markets, which ended the day higher. Short covering on the Nifty weekly expiry and bullish global cues propelled the recovery in local markets.

Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Siddhartha Khemka stated, "In general, we anticipate a gradual recovery in the markets." But worries about FII selling on a regular basis, the India VIX remaining over 20, the results of the present general election polls, and more may keep volatility higher."

Technically speaking, the Nifty may advance in the near future towards 22,600, with 22,250 serving as support at the lower end. As long as it stays above this level, sentiment should continue to be robust, according to an ET report.

The Dow hit an intraday high of 40,000 on Thursday for the first time, but it ended the day down after reducing previous gains, as US markets saw a decline. Strong corporate profit reports and statistics indicating a slowing in inflation gave investors anticipation that the US Federal Reserve might lower interest rates. The S&P dropped 0.21%, the Nasdaq dropped 0.26%, and the Dow dropped 0.10%.

While Hong Kong stocks were ready for more gains on positive corporate reports, Asian markets began the day mostly down on Friday as traders reevaluated the direction that interest rates might go. As of 9:08 a.m., S&P 500 futures had not changed much.Tokyo time saw 1.2% rise in Hang Seng futures, 0.3% decline in Japan's Topix, 0.3% decline in Australia's S&P/ASX 200, and 0.5% decline in Euro Stoxx 50 futures.

Friday's Asian trading hours saw an uptick in oil prices, with global benchmark Brent expected to rise for the first time in three weeks due to increasing global demand and a slowdown in inflation in the United States, the world's largest oil user. On Friday, the dollar was about to plunge to its lowest weekly level against the euro in two and a half months due to indications of slowing inflation and a weakening U.S. economy, which increased the likelihood of rate cuts.

On Thursday, foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth a net of Rs 776 crore, while DIIs purchased shares valued at Rs 2,128 crore. Due to investors' lackluster enthusiasm for riskier assets, the rupee remained range-bound and ended the day 4 paise weaker at 83.50 versus the US dollar on Thursday. From Rs 2.45 lakh crore on Wednesday to Rs 2.59 lakh crore on Thursday, there was a net shortfall of FIIs.

On Friday, a number of businesses, including ZEEL, JSW Steel, Godrej Industries, Glaxo, and Sobha, will release their fourth-quarter financial results.