US markets were followed higher by Asian equities this morning. The Indian market is also maintaining hopes of further gains.
Attacks on two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz pushed crude prices slightly higher. Brent crude, however, remains close to $100 a barrel. Qatar and Pakistan are continuing mediation efforts. The US has yet to respond to the conditions set by Iran for resuming talks. The US has announced sanctions on an Iranian airline from tomorrow. Washington is also seeking Chinese support for sanctions against Iran.
In derivatives trading at GIFT City, GIFT Nifty closed at 23,527.50 on Monday night. It fell to 23,498 this morning before recovering. The indication is that the Indian market could open higher today.
Growth in India’s core industries slowed to a three-month low of 4.8% in August.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is due to arrive in New York today for the United Nations General Assembly. A meeting with US President Donald Trump is unlikely.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Washington on Thursday for extensive talks with Trump. The Trump-Xi meeting is expected to open the way for easing the intense trade confrontation between the two countries. The US is also continuing efforts to obtain China’s support for sanctions announced against Iran.
Leaders of Gulf countries attending the UN session will also meet Trump. Saudi Arabia continues to seek US assistance in confronting the Houthis in Yemen.
US equities brushed aside recent concerns surrounding artificial intelligence and pushed the Nasdaq Composite to a record high on Monday.
Meta Platforms jumped 11% and Intel 12%. Advanced Micro Devices surged 10%, taking its market capitalisation to $1 trillion. A 4.5% fall in US crude oil prices also supported the broader market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 366.19 points, or 0.71%, to close at 52,048.83 on Monday.
The S&P 500 gained 114.20 points, or 1.49%, to reach 7,764.70. The Nasdaq Composite surged 599.55 points, or 2.26%, to close at 27,122.09.
US futures are fluctuating today.
Dow futures are down 78 points, or 0.15%. S&P 500 futures are marginally lower, while Nasdaq futures are up 90 points, or 0.29%.
In the American Depositary Receipt market in New York, HDFC Bank rose 2.12% during regular trading on Monday and gained another 0.21% in after-hours trade to close at $23.70.
ICICI Bank gained 0.60% during the regular session before falling 0.14% in after-hours trading to close at $28.28.
Infosys rose 0.65% during regular trading and gained another 0.47% after hours to close at $10.94.
Wipro advanced 0.60% during regular trading before falling 0.59% after hours to close at $1.66.
European stock markets rose on Monday, mainly because of lower crude oil prices.
Technology shares advanced, while automobile stocks remained weak.
Asian markets are trading higher today.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.4%. Australia’s market gained 0.20%, while South Korea’s Kospi surged 1.70%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.25%, Taiwan’s index rose 1.45% and Shanghai advanced 0.20%.
The Sensex showed momentum towards reclaiming the 75,000 level but pulled back after moving close to it.
The Nifty climbed above 24,450 but failed to remain above that resistance level. Even so, the market is showing signs of recovering from its recent weakness.
The NSE IPO closed on Monday with 5.7 times subscription. BSE shares fell 3.23%.
NSE is scheduled to list on Thursday. Its grey market premium, which had been as high as 16% last week, fell to around 3% on Monday.
All sectors except metals, information technology and capital markets advanced on Monday. Realty, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, fast-moving consumer goods and consumer durables recorded strong gains.
Mid-cap and small-cap shares ended with small losses.
A majority of individual stocks nevertheless remained in the red. On the BSE, 2,129 stocks advanced and 2,334 declined. On the NSE, 1,720 stocks rose while 1,849 fell.
Foreign investors continued selling. They recorded net sales of ₹576.20 crore in the cash market on Monday. Domestic funds and institutions made net purchases of ₹2,797.27 crore.
The Sensex jumped 564.03 points, or 0.76%, to close at 74,858.99 on Monday.
The Nifty gained 67.90 points, or 0.29%, to end at 23,414.30.
The Bank Nifty advanced 111.95 points, or 0.20%, to close at 56,470.65.
The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 178.15 points, or 0.29%, to end at 62,013.10.
The Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 14.20 points, or 0.07%, to close at 19,861.50.
The Tata Group appears set to move into a legal battle. Tata Trusts is appointing Abhishek Manu Singhvi as its principal lawyer, while the Tata Sons board is appointing Harish Salve. The dispute is expected to reach the company law tribunal.
Media reports say the Reserve Bank of India is interested in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance chief executive Anup Bagchi among the candidates proposed by the HDFC Bank board for the appointment of its next CEO.
The board was understood to prefer Deputy Managing Director Kaizad Bharucha.
The difficulty is an RBI rule under which Bharucha can be given a term only until June 2029. Regulations stipulate that a person cannot remain continuously at the top level of a bank for more than 15 years.
If the Reserve Bank grants a six-month relaxation, Bharucha could be given a three-year term.
Bagchi, who was an executive director of ICICI Bank until 2023, has meanwhile been outside mainstream banking for three years.
Mastercard will sell a 4.3% stake in Pine Labs through a bulk transaction today.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation said it has discovered natural gas in the Mahanadi offshore basin.
Pace Digitek has received a ₹488 crore order from NTPC to build a battery energy storage system.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders has approved a capital budget of ₹2,896 crore for a new shipbuilding facility at Raichak in West Bengal.
The fall in crude oil prices below $100 and the strengthening dollar pushed gold lower on Monday. Gold is rising again today.
Gold fell $34.20, or 0.78%, on Monday to close at $4,344.80 an ounce. It rose to $4,360 this morning.
In Kerala, the price of 22-carat gold fell by ₹920 per sovereign on Monday to ₹1,13,360.
Silver edged lower on Monday to close at $66.15 an ounce. It rose to $66.62 this morning.
Platinum stood at $1,808, palladium at $1,294 and rhodium at $8,500.
International rubber prices rose on Monday.
In Bangkok, RSS-1 reached $280.30 per quintal and RSS-3 $276.90.
In Kerala, rubber remained at ₹27,400 per quintal.
The surge in copper prices is continuing.
Monday’s price was only $63, or 0.425%, below the all-time record of $14,851 a tonne. A significant increase in Chinese demand was cited as the reason.
Copper rose 1.78% to $14,787.65 a tonne.
Aluminium gained 0.26% to reach $3,289.94. Lead, zinc, tin and nickel also advanced.
Cocoa prices fell 0.38% to close at $5,307 a tonne, the lowest level since mid-August.
Exports from Ivory Coast increased 18% last month to 2.14 million tonnes. Stocks on the ICE exchange rose to a two-year high of 3.42 million bags.
Arabica coffee fell 2.14% to $2.745 a pound.
Palm oil declined 0.84% to 4,857 Malaysian ringgit a tonne.
The US Dollar Index, which has been rising following the increase in interest rates, advanced on Monday to close at 100.43. It eased slightly to 100.39 this morning.
The euro fell to $1.1466 and the pound to $1.3366.
The Japanese yen weakened to 157.41 against the dollar. The Chinese yuan strengthened to 6.70 to the dollar.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.951%.
The rupee, which strengthened sharply on Monday morning, closed with a modest gain.
The dollar fell five paise to close at ₹95.82.
In the offshore forward market, the dollar was quoted at ₹95.74 this morning.
The Chinese yuan rose to ₹14.31, while the euro declined to ₹109.88.
Crude oil, which had fallen towards $100, edged higher this morning.
Brent crude fell $3.53 on Monday to close at $100.34 a barrel. It rose slightly to $100.87 this morning.
West Texas Intermediate crude stood at $92.79 a barrel.
Cryptocurrencies are rallying.
Bitcoin reached $86,000 before easing slightly. It was trading below $85,800 this morning.
Ether remained above $2,750 and Solana above $118.