Key Indian stock indices closed in the green on Friday, August 17, in sync with US and Asian trading floors, on news that Beijing stands ready for trade talks with the US. The session’s best performers included financial, consumer and healthcare names. Minutes from the central bank’s last meeting were published today, according to which the regulator sees risks of high inflation in H2 as a key driver for an interest rate hike in August. Recapping the benchmarks, the Nifty 50 advanced 0.75% to 11,470.75, while the BSE Sensex closed 0.75% higher at 37,947.88. Notably, India’s currency and bond markets are offline today in observance of a local holiday. As noted above, financial names were well bid, with ICICI Bank и Kotak Mahindra rising 1.38% and 1.43%, respectively. Hotel operator Lemon Tree Hotels added 1.2% after announcing the acquisition of a 90-room hotel in the Andhra Pradesh State. Meanwhile, Jet Airways gained 0.2% on news that the company is looking to raise INR 20 bn from a non-bank financial institution. The daily chart shows that the BSE Sensex is consolidating near the upper end of Bollinger Bands, while the Slow Stochastic Oscillator and the RSI have approached overbought territory. As a result, the benchmark holds downside potential in the short term. $SENSEX, S&P BSE SENSEX INDEX / D