The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open on a cautious note on Tuesday, as investors assess the latest developments over the US-Iran war in the Middle East.
Asian markets traded higher, while the US stock market gained overnight, with all three Wall Street indices closing higher.
On Monday, the Indian stock market ended with strong gains, with the benchmark indices rising more than 1% each.
The Sensex jumped 787.30 points, or 1.07%, to close at 74,106.85, while the Nifty 50 settled 255.15 points, or 1.12%, higher at 22,968.25.
“Given the elevated volatility, traders are advised to maintain a cautious stance and focus on stock-specific opportunities — favoring relatively strong counters for long positions and laggards for shorting opportunities,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:
Asian Markets
Asian markets traded higher on Tuesday, following overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors continued to assess developments over the US-Iran war. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.26% and the Topix rose 0.23%. South Korea’s Kospi rallied 1.5%, and the Kosdaq rose 0.85%. Hong Kong markets were closed for the Easter holiday.
Gift Nifty Today
Gift Nifty was trading around 22,966 level, a discount of nearly 91 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a negative start for the Indian stock market indices.
Wall Street
US stock market ended higher on Monday as investors looked for signs of progress toward the US-Iran ceasefire deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 165.21 points, or 0.36%, to 46,669.88, while the S&P 500 gained 29.33 points, or 0.45%, to 6,612.02. The Nasdaq Composite closed 117.16 points, or 0.54%, higher at 21,996.34.
Nvidia stock price rose 0.14%, AMD shares gained 1.23%, Amazon share price rallied 1.44%, Apple stock price advanced 1.15%, while Tesla stock price declined 2.15%. Soleno Therapeutics shares jumped 32.3%.
US-Iran War
US President Donald Trump intensified his threats to Iran, declaring the country could be “taken out in one night”, as his final Tuesday deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz fast approaches. Iran has warned that it would respond to the kind of strikes Trump is threatening against civilian targets by ramping up its own attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf.
US Services PMI
US services sector growth slowed in March. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its nonmanufacturing purchasing managers’ index slipped to 54.0 last month from 56.1 in February. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the services PMI easing to 54.9.
Japanese Bond Yields
Japanese government bonds were largely steady. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield was flat at 2.425% after hitting a 27-year high on Monday. The 20-year JGB yield climbed 2 basis points (bps) to 3.350%. The two-year yield was unchanged at 1.395%, while the five-year yield rose 0.5 bps to 1.830%.
Crude Oil Prices
Crude oil prices extended gains as Trump threatened stronger action on Iran if it fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit chokepoint. Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to $110.34 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 1.1% at $113.67.
Gold Rate Today
Gold prices were steady amid cautiousness ahead of a deadline set by US President Donald Trump on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Spot gold price was steady at $4,646.69 per ounce, while US gold futures for June delivery fell 0.2% to $4,674.40. Spot silver price fell 0.9% to $72.11 per ounce.
(With inputs from Reuters)
