Indian stock market: The equity market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open lower on Thursday, following mixed global market cues. The Indian stock market is expected to remain volatile today amid weekly F&O expiry and ahead of the stock market holiday tomorrow,
Asian markets traded mixed, while the US stock market ended higher overnight, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting new closing highs, amid increased expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.
Traders see a Fed rate cut on September 17 as a near certainty, according to LSEG data, and even lay around 7% odds on a super-sized half-point reduction.
On Wednesday, the Indian stock market ended higher, led by buying across the segments.
The Sensex gained 304.32 points, or 0.38%, to close at 80,539.91, while the Nifty 50 settled 131.95 points, or 0.54%, higher at 24,619.35.
“We expect the market to remain range bound and domestic-facing themes likely to be in favour amidst caution over US tariffs and outcome of the US-Russia peace talks scheduled for Friday,” 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 mixed on Thursday, despite an overnight rally on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.94%, while the Topix index dropped 0.64%. South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.17%, and the Kosdaq was flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a stronger opening.
Gift Nifty Today
Gift Nifty was trading around 24,689 level, a discount of nearly 23 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a weak start for the Indian stock market indices.
Wall Street
US stock market ended higher on Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes hitting new closing highs for the second straight day, on hopes of a Fed rate cut.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 463.66 points, or 1.04%, to 44,922.27, while the S&P 500 rose 20.82 points, or 0.32%, to 6,466.58. The Nasdaq Composite closed 31.24 points, or 0.14%, higher at 21,713.14.
Apple share price rose 1.6%, Nvidia stock price fell 0.85%, Microsoft shares dropped 1.64%, while Tesla share price declined 0.47%. CoreWeave shares plunged almost 21% and Paramount Skydance stock price jumped 36.7%.
Scott Bessent on Fed Rate Cut
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made his most explicit call yet for the Federal Reserve to execute a cycle of interest-rate cuts. “I think we could go into a series of rate cuts here, starting with a 50 basis-point rate cut in September,” Bessent said in a television interview on Bloomberg Surveillance Wednesday. “If you look at any model” it suggests that “we should probably be 150, 175 basis points lower.”
Dollar
The US dollar languished near multi-week lows against the euro and sterling. The dollar index, which measures the currency against the euro, sterling and four other major peers, was steady at 97.704. The euro edged up to $1.1713, while Sterling rose to $1.3586. Against Japan’s currency, the greenback lost 0.3% to 146.95 yen.
Bitcoin Prices
Bitcoin prices hit a record high on Fed rate cut bets. The world’s largest crypto-asset by market capitalisation, Bitcoin, climbed as much as 0.9% to $124,457.12, surpassing its previous peak hit in July. On the day, the second largest crypto-token Ethereum hit $4,784.67, the highest level since late 2021.
Gold Prices
Gold prices rose for a third day as bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts increased. Spot gold price was 0.5% higher at $3,372.03 per ounce, after rising 0.2% in the previous session.
Crude Oil Prices
Crude oil prices steadied near a two-month low after the International Energy Agency said the market is on track for record oversupply next year. Brent crude oil price rose 0.34% to $65.85 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 0.30% to $62.84.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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