The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to remain volatile on Sunday ahead of the announcement of the Union Budget 2026-2027 later today. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget in the parliament today, with Dalal Street expecting no big bang reforms, but policy continuity.
The major stock exchanges, BSE and NSE are open for a special trading session today, February 1, on account of the Union Budget presentation.
On Friday, the Indian stock market ended lower, snapping its three-session winning streak amid profit booking.
The Sensex fell 296.59 points, or 0.36%, to close at 82,269.78, while the Nifty 50 settled 98.25 points, or 0.39%, lower at 25,320.65.
“Investors should continue to adopt a buy-on-dips strategy, with an emphasis on quality large-cap stocks and sectors aligned with manufacturing, infrastructure, and exports. Traders should stay nimble around key events, manage risk proactively, and avoid aggressive leverage during event-driven moves. Selective exposure to banking, defence, and energy appears favourable, while caution is advised in sectors facing persistent global headwinds,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:
Wall Street
US stock market ended lower on Friday as investors viewed President Donald Trump’s nomination of former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh as a hawkish choice.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 179.09 points, or 0.36%, to 48,892.47, while the S&P 500 declined 29.98 points, or 0.43%, to 6,939.03. The Nasdaq Composite closed 223.30 points, or 0.94%, lower at 23,461.82. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Dow fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq fell 0.2%. For the month, S&P 500 gained 1.4%, Nasdaq rose 0.9% and the Dow Jones rallied 1.7%.
Apple share price gained 0.43%, Meta shares fell 3%, Tesla stock price rallied 3.3%, Nvidia stock price eased 0.72%, while AMD shares declined 6.13%. Verizon Communications stock price jumped 11.8%, SanDisk shares surged 6.9%, while KLA Corp share price tumbled 15.2%.
European Markets
European markets ended higher on Friday, as investors focused on corporate earnings. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.5% higher. FTSE 100 gained 0.51%, and the DAX rallied 0.94%.
US Fed Chair
US President Donald Trump announced that he has picked Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chairman to succeed Jerome Powell after his term ends. “I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Kevin Warsh to be the CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM,” said Donald Trump in his recent post on Truth Social.
Gold Prices
Gold and silver prices crashed on Friday as investors booked profits amid a global selloff triggered by a stronger US dollar. MCX gold rate cracked by ₹33,113, or 18%, to close at ₹1,50,849 per kg on Friday, while MCX silver rate slumped by ₹1,07,971, or 27%, to ₹2,91,922 per 10 grams.
US Government Shutdown
The US government entered what is expected to be a brief shutdown on Saturday after Congress failed to approve a deal to keep a wide swath of operations funded ahead of a midnight deadline, Reuters reported.
US Dollar
US dollar strengthened sharply on Friday in the wake of the Warsh announcement and inflation data. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.57% to 96.73, with the euro down 0.54% at $1.1904.
Bitcoin Prices
Bitcoin prices fell sharply, tumbling below the $80,000 mark to hit levels last seen in April 2025. The decline in bitcoin prices came amid thin liquidity and limited buying interest. Bitcoin price was down by 6.6% to $78,521.58, while Ether price declined 10.2% to $2,431.42.
Crude Oil Prices
Crude oil prices declined. Brent crude oil price fell 0.39% to $69.32 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined 0.32% to $65.21.
(With inputs from Reuters)
