The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open lower on Thursday amid mixed cues from global markets as rising fears of a military conflict between US and Iran weighed on investor sentiment.
Asian markets traded mixed, while the US stock market ended lower, with all three major Wall Street indices closing in the red.
On Thursday, the Indian stock market ended sharply lower, snapping its three-day winning streak, amid cautious global cues.
The Sensex crashed 1,236.11 points, or 1.48%, to close at 82,498.14, while the Nifty 50 settled 365.00 points, or 1.41%, lower at 25,454.35.
“Even a single session of profit booking in the banking index significantly impacted overall market mood, as other sectors failed to provide meaningful support and also closed lower. We therefore recommend maintaining a cautious stance and waiting for signs of stability before initiating fresh positions,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:
Asian Markets
Asian markets traded mixed on Friday, following overnight losses on Wall Street indexes and rising Iran-US tensions. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.04%, while the Topix fell 1.12%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.66%, but the Kosdaq dropped 0.19%. Markets on mainland China and Hong Kong are closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Gift Nifty Today
Gift Nifty was trading around 25,418 level, a discount of nearly 28 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a negative start for the Indian stock market indices.
Wall Street
US stock market ended lower on Thursday, weighed down by losses in private equity companies and weakness in Walmart and Apple shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.54% to 49,395.16, while the S&P 500 declined 0.28% to end the session at 6,861.89. The Nasdaq closed 0.31% lower at 22,682.73.
Apple stock price dropped 1.4%, Nvidia stock price eased 0.04%, AMD shares gained 1.62%, Tesla shares rose 0.09%, and Walmart share price dipped 1.4%. Blue Owl shares tumbled 6%, Apollo Global Management, Ares, KKR & Co and Carlyle Group shares all fell between 1.9% and 5.2%.
Iran-US Tensions
US President Donald Trump warned Iran that it must make a deal over its nuclear program or “really bad things” will happen, and set a deadline of 10 to 15 days, drawing a threat from Tehran to retaliate against US bases in the region if attacked.
US Trade Deficit
US trade deficit in goods expanded to a new record in 2025. The US goods deficit stood at $1.24 trillion for all of last year, widening slightly from 2024’s level. When both goods and services were considered, the overall US trade deficit for 2025 narrowed to $901.5 billion, from $903.5 billion in 2024. In the month of December, the overall deficit grew more than expected by 32.6% to $70.3 billion, as exports fell and imports climbed.
US Jobless Claims
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 206,0000 for the week ended February 14. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims for the latest week. Last week’s drop marked a significant decline in claims since they jumped to 232,000 at the end of January.
Japan Inflation
Japan’s annual core consumer inflation hit 2.0% in January, marking the slowest pace in two years. The year-on-year increase in the core consumer price index matched a median market forecast and slowed from a 2.4% gain in December.
Meanwhile, the flash Japan composite PMI increased to 53.8 in February from 53.1 in January, marking the fastest pace of growth since May 2023.
Dollar
The dollar was poised to cap its strongest weekly performance since October. Against a basket of currencies, the US dollar index hovered near one-month peak and was last at 97.89. It was on track for a weekly gain of more than 1%, which would mark its strongest performance in more than four months, Reuters reported.
Sterling was near a one-month low at $1.3457 and headed for a weekly drop of nearly 1.5%. The euro was down 0.02% at $1.1768 and set to lose 0.8% for the week. Japanese yen dipped 0.05% to 155.08 per dollar.
Gold Prices
Gold prices steadied near $5,000 an ounce, after two days of gains, amid rising geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Spot gold price eased 0.1% to $4,990,09 an ounce, while silver price fell 0.7% to $77.99.
Crude Oil Prices
Crude oil prices steadied near a six-month high on mounting fears of a military conflict between the United States and Iran. Brent crude oil price rose 0.17% to $71.78 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 0.11% to $66.50.
(With inputs from Reuters)
