Indian equity markets are expected to open flat to slightly higher on Friday after GIFT Nifty futures signalled marginal gains, with trading likely to be driven by a raft of corporate updates across metals, energy, finance and consumer sectors. Vedanta Ltd reported record alumina production of 587,000 tonnes in the June quarter, up 36% sequentially, while ferro-chrome output jumped 150%. Reliance Retail Ventures strengthened its beauty and wellness portfolio by taking a strategic minority stake in UK-based FaceGym, whose India launch will be led by the group’s Tira platform. Financials will stay in focus after Bajaj Finance said new loans booked rose 23% year-on-year to 13.49 million in the first quarter, expanding its customer base to 106.5 million. Bandhan Bank’s loans grew 6.4% to ₹1.33 lakh crore, though its low-cost CASA deposits fell 6% amid broader deposit growth of 16%. In energy, Indian Energy Exchange posted a 6.5% increase in June traded volumes to 10,852 million units. Separately, Oil & Natural Gas Corp. formed a $370 million joint venture with Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines to build two very-large ethane carriers for delivery in 2028. Block deals may add volatility: Carlyle Group is seeking up to ₹2,700 crore by selling a 10% stake in Piramal Pharma, and Bain Capital plans to pare 2.4% of recently listed Emcure Pharmaceuticals. IndiGo parent InterGlobe Aviation named former NITI Aayog chief Amitabh Kant as a non-executive director, subject to approvals. Other movers include AWL Agri Business, which logged a 21% revenue rise despite softer volumes, and state-run NBCC, which secured ₹65.73 crore of new project management orders. Analysts expect these company-specific developments to set the tone for the session ahead of the next batch of quarterly earnings.