The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open lower on Monday, following mixed global market cues.
Asian markets traded flat, with most markets closed for holidays, while the US stock market ended mixed last week.
This week, investors will watch out for key stock market triggers, including the US Federal Reserve meeting minutes, RBI MPC meeting minutes, flow of foreign capital, movement in IT stocks, gold and silver rates, and other key domestic and global macroeconomic data releases.
On Friday, the Indian stock market ended sharply lower, weighed down by heavy selling in IT stocks on concerns over AI disruption and its impact on the global economy.
The Sensex crashed 1048.16 points, or 1.25%, to end at 82,626.76, while the Nifty 50 settled 336.10 points, or 1.30%, lower at 25,471.10.
“Equity markets are likely to remain range-bound in the near term amid mixed global cues and continued sector-specific volatility. With the earnings season drawing to a close, investor attention is expected to shift toward global macro developments, evolving geopolitical dynamics, and key takeaways from the upcoming India AI Impact Summit,” said Siddhartha Khemka – Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:
Asian Markets
Asian markets were flat on Monday, consolidating recent hefty gains as holidays made for thin trading. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.2%, following a 5% rise last week. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmed 0.1%. China, South Korea, and Taiwan markets are closed for Lunar New Year holidays.
Gift Nifty Today
Gift Nifty was trading around 25,465 level, a discount of nearly 54 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a weak start for the Indian stock market indices.
Wall Street
US stock market ended mixed while Treasury yields fell on Friday after cooler-than-expected US inflation data for January that some saw as underpinning hopes for interest rate cuts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 48.95 points, or 0.10%, to 49,500.93, while the S&P 500 rose 3.41 points, or 0.05%, to 6,836.17. The Nasdaq Composite closed 50.48 points, or 0.22%, lower at 22,546.67. All three of the major indexes had slight losses for the week.
Nvidia stock price fell 2.23%, Apple shares declined 2.27%, Meta Platforms share price dropped 1.55%, while Tesla stock price rose 0.08%.
US Inflation
US consumer prices increased less than expected in January. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% last month after an unrevised 0.3% gain in December. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI increasing 0.3%.
Japan GDP Growth
Japan’s economy eked out an annualised 0.2% expansion in the October-December quarter. The increase in Japan’s GDP growth, however, fell short of a median market estimate of a 1.6% gain in a Reuters poll, and followed a larger revised 2.6% contraction in the previous quarter. The reading translates into a quarterly rise of 0.1%, weaker than the median estimate of a 0.4% uptick.
Gold Prices
Gold prices traded lower as traders booked profits after mild US inflation data pushed the metal back above $5,000 an ounce. Spot gold price fell 0.3% to $5,026.96 an ounce, while silver price declined 1.1% to $76.54 an ounce.
Dollar
The US dollar was nearly flat against other currencies after inflation data. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.03% to 96.90, with the euro down 0.01% at $1.1869. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.01% to 152.75.
The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes fell 5.6 basis points to 4.048%, from 4.104% late on Thursday.
Crude Oil Prices
Crude oil prices traded flat as traders monitored geopolitical risk before talks between the US and Iran resumed. Brent crude oil price fell 0.03% to $67.73 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures eased 0.05% to $62.86.
(With inputs from Reuters)
