The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open lower on Friday, following a sell-off in global markets, and ahead of the RBI monetary policy.
Asian markets traded lower, while the US stock market plunged overnight, dragged by heavy selling technology stocks.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will announce its February monetary policy later today. The RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra-led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is widely expected to keep repo rates unchanged at 5.25%.
On Thursday, the Indian stock market ended lower amid selling across sectors, as investors opted for profit-booking.
The Sensex declined 503.76 points, or 0.60%, to close at 83,313.93, while the Nifty 50 settled 133.20 points, or 0.52%, lower at 25,642.80.
“The markets are expected to track global developments, macroeconomic data, and the ongoing Q3 earnings season over the near term,” 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 traded lower on Friday, following overnight losses on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.22% and the Topix fell 0.74%. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 3.86%, while the Kosdaq plunged 5.26%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures indicated a lower opening.
Gift Nifty Today
Gift Nifty was trading around 25,585 level, a discount of nearly 140 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a negative start for the Indian stock market indices.
Wall Street
US stock market ended sharply lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq falling to its lowest since November, dragged by losses in Microsoft, Amazon and other tech heavyweights.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.20% to 48,908.72, while the S&P 500 plunged 1.23% to end the session at 6,798.40. The Nasdaq closed 1.59% lower at 22,540.59.
Nvidia stock price dropped 1.37%, Microsoft share price tanked 4.95%, AMD shares declined 3.84%, Alphabet shares fell 0.6%, Palantir stock price slipped 6.8%, Oracle shares plunged 7% and Qualcomm slid 8.5%. Tesla stock price declined 2.17%, while Amazon shares lost 4.4% during regular trading and then tumbled another 10% after the closing bell.
US Job Openings
US job openings dropped to the lowest level in more than five years in December. Job openings, a measure of labor demand, decreased by 386,000 to 6.542 million by the last day of December, the lowest level since September 2020, JOLTS report showed. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 7.20 million unfilled jobs. Hiring increased by 172,000 positions to a still-low 5.293 million in December.
ECB Policy
The European Central Bank kept policy rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting, with its key interest rate at 2%. The euro zone’s central bank has been on hold since ending a year-long run of rate cuts in June. ECB acknowledged continued uncertainties around global trade policy and geopolitical tensions but said an updated assessment still saw inflation stabilising at its 2% target in the medium term.
Bank of England Policy
The Bank of England kept interest rates on hold in a narrow 5-4 vote, and said borrowing costs are likely to fall if an expected drop soon in inflation is sustained. Despite a big cut to its economic growth forecast this year along with a rise in unemployment, the BoE left its benchmark rate at 3.75%, as expected in a Reuters poll of economists.
Dollar
The US dollar steadied near a two-week high on Friday, poised for its strongest weekly performance since November. The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six other units, was at 97.961, hovering near the highest since January 23, Reuters reported. The index is set for a 1% increase for the week. The euro was at $1.1784, Sterling was nursing steep losses and stood at $1.3520 after dropping nearly 1% in the previous session. The yen rose to 156.74.
Gold Prices
Gold and silver extended losses on a strong US dollar. Spot gold price declined 0.7% to $4,735.99 per ounce, after a near 4% drop on Thursday. US gold futures for April delivery fell 2.8% to $4,752.40 per ounce. Spot silver price fell 3.2% to $68.97 an ounce after a 19.1% drop in the previous session.
Bitcoin Prices
Bitcoin price tumbled below $61,000 as broader market turbulence deepened a selloff. The token sank as much as 4.8% to $60,033 to plunge to its lowest since October 2024.
Crude Oil Prices
Crude oil prices extended their decline, on track for their first weekly drop in weeks, as supply concerns eased, while focus remained on the outcome of US-Iran nuclear talks. Brent crude futures dropped 0.74% to $67.05 a barrel after settling 2.75% lower in the previous session. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $62.77 a barrel, down 0.82%, after closing 2.84% lower on Thursday.
(With inputs from Reuters)
