Indian stock market: 7 key things that changed for market overnight – Gift Nifty, Nikkei at record high to Nasdaq rally

Indian stock market: The Indian equity market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50 are expected to open higher on Thursday following a rally in global equities.

Asian markets traded higher with Japan’s Nikkei hitting record highs, while the US stock market also saw record-high closing overnight fueled by gains in tech stocks like Nvidia.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before the House members on Wednesday raised expectations that the central bank may begin the policy easing cycle this year.

Expectations of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut by September rose to 74% from around 70% on Tuesday and 45% a month ago, according to CME’s FedWatch.

On Wednesday, the Indian stock market indices ended around half a percent lower each dragged by profit booking at record high levels.

The Sensex tanked 426.87 points, or 0.53, to close at 79,924.77, while the Nifty 50 settled 108.75 points, or 0.45%, lower at 24,324.45.

“We expect the market to consolidate in the higher zone and any dip is a buying opportunity for long-term investors. Corporate earnings will start with TCS first to announce numbers. Thus, the IT sector is expected to remain in focus,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded higher on Thursday following overnight rally on Wall Street, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 surging to a fresh record high, crossing the 42,000 mark for the first time.

The Nikkei jumped 1.37%, while the Topix rallied 1.17%, also reaching new highs. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.76%, while the Kosdaq rose 0.22%. Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures indicated a higher opening.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 24,400 level, a premium of nearly 55 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a positive start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market ended higher on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rallying to record high closes, led by gains in Nvidia shares and other heavyweights.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.09% to 39,721.36, while the S&P 500 rose 1.02% to settle at 5,633.91. The Nasdaq ended 1.18% higher at 18,647.45, its seventh straight record-high close.

Nvidia stock price rallied 2.7%, Micron Technology shares jumped 4% and Advanced Micro Devices share price surged 3.9%. Apple stock price gained 1.9% to a record high, lifting its stock market value to $3.6 trillion.

Intuit shares declined 2.6%, while Illumina share price jumped over 6%.

Jerome Powell Testimony

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, over his two days of commentary before the Senate and House committees, indicated the central bank was edging closer to a rate cut decision, while also insisting that he was not yet ready to declare that inflation had been beaten, Reuters reported.

Powell said the Fed will not cut interest rates until they have gained even greater confidence that inflation is headed back to the central bank’s 2% target.

US Treasury Yields

US Treasury yields slipped after dovish comments from Fed Chair Powell affirmed expectations of an easing monetary policy cycle later this year. US 10-year yield fell to 4.284%, down 1.6 basis points (bps). US 30-year yields fell 2.3 bps to 4.472%, while the two-year yield was flat at 4.63%.

Oil Prices

Crude oil prices rose on Thursday as crude stocks fell.

Brent futures rose 0.43% to $85.45 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 0.47% to $82.49 a barrel.

Gold Rate Today

Gold prices were steady on Thursday ahead of US inflation data due later in the day. Spot gold was nearly unchanged at $2,372.99 per ounce, while US gold futures were flat at $2,378.40.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.