Asian stock markets are higher today as Japanese and Hong Kong shares show gains. The Nikkei 225 is up 0.1% while the Hang Seng is up 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite is trading up by 0.1%.

Meanwhile, Wall Street had a rollercoaster ride on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average swinging from a session low where it was down 784 points, to end the day with a decline of just 77 points. The fall came on the back of the arrest of a Chinese technology executive fanned fears of US-China tensions over trade.

Back home, India share markets have opened the day on a positive note. The BSE Sensex is trading up by 108 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 24 points. The BSE Mid Cap index opened the day up by 0.4% while BSE Small Cap index opened up by 0.2%.

Sectoral indices have opened the day on a mixed note with metal stocks and IT stocks witnessing maximum selling pressure. While FMCG stocks and automobile stocks have opened the day in green.

The rupee is currently trading at Rs 70.84 against the US$.

In the news from the oil space. Oil prices fell on Friday, pulled down by Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)'s decision to delay a final decision on output cuts, awaiting support from non-OPEC heavyweight Russia.

International Brent crude oil futures fell below US$60 per barrel early in the session, trading at US$59.50 per barrel, down 0.9% from their last close.

The declines came after crude slumped by almost 3% the previous day, with the OPEC ending a meeting at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday without announcing a decision to cut crude supply, instead of preparing to debate the matter on Friday.

Oil output from the world's biggest producers - OPEC, Russia and the United States has increased by 3.3 million bpd since the end of 2017, to 56.38 million bpd, meeting almost 60% of global consumption. Oil producers have been hit by a 30% plunge in crude prices since October as supply surges just as the demand outlook weakens amid a global economic slowdown.

That increase alone is equivalent to the output of major OPEC producer the United Arab Emirates.

The surge is largely down to soaring U.S. crude oil production, which has jumped by 2.5 million bpd since early 2016 to a record 11.7 million bpd, making the United States the world's biggest oil producer.

As a result, the United States last week exported more crude oil and fuel than it imported for the first time on records going back to 1973, the reports noted.

Talking about the OPEC meeting and its impact on crude oil prices, here's some interesting data.

After OPEC meetings, crude oil prices have seen volatile moves both ways.

Look at this chart...

Volatile Up and Down Moves Post-OPEC Meetings

Moving on to the news from the currencies space. The Indian rupee opened higher by 34 paise against the greenback today, boosted by sluggish US dollar and weak oil prices.

In the early trade today, the rupee was trading at 70.52 a dollar, up 38 paise from its Thursday's close of 70.90. The currency opened at 70.56 and touched a high and a low of 70.52 and 70.59 a dollar, respectively.

The rupee depreciated by 44 paise to close at 70.90 against the US dollar on Thursday amid a strengthening greenback and a sharp decline in equity markets.

But the sentiment turned positive today as the dollar struggled to recover against its key rivals in Asian trade.

Also fueling the risk appetite was weak oil prices, which were pulled down by OPEC's decision to delay a final decision on output cuts.

India imports nearly 80% of its total oil needs and a fall in dollar help drive down the value of its imports.

Besides, fund inflows by foreign investors also supported the domestic unit.

Reportedly, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net bought shares worth Rs 724.7 million Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded equities to the tune of Rs 3.9 billion.