Global markets continued their upward march on Friday, supported by easing geopolitical concerns in the Middle East and growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in the near term. Gold extended its record rally as the dollar weakened, while crude oil traded in a narrow range.
Indian markets are also set for a positive start, with Gift Nifty indicating another day of gains after benchmark indices closed sharply higher on Thursday.
Gift Nifty derivatives closed at 24,355 on Thursday night and climbed to around 24,465 in early Friday trade before easing slightly. The trend indicates a strong opening for the domestic market.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the southwest monsoon rainfall remained 33 percent below normal as of July 2.
The rainfall deficit narrowed after central India received widespread showers, while the monsoon also advanced into northwestern states. The IMD expects above-normal rainfall during the first week of July before precipitation moderates later in the month. Overall rainfall for July is projected at 94 percent of the long-term average.
Wall Street closed on a mixed note on Thursday, with technology stocks dragging the Nasdaq lower while the Dow Jones Industrial Average touched another record high.
Weakness in semiconductor shares weighed on the Nasdaq, although optimism over interest rates continued to support broader market sentiment.
Tesla declined 7.5 percent, while SpaceX gained 2.83 percent.
Dow Jones rose 594.83 points (1.14 percent) to close at 52,900.07.
S&P 500 ended virtually unchanged at 7,483.24.
Nasdaq Composite fell 207.36 points (0.80 percent) to 25,832.67.
Indian companies listed in the US ended higher.
HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys and Wipro all extended gains in after-hours trading, indicating continued buying interest in Indian IT and banking stocks.
US index futures traded higher on Friday morning.
Dow futures gained 182 points.
S&P 500 futures rose 22 points.
Nasdaq futures advanced 139 points.
European equities rallied nearly 2 percent on Thursday amid hopes that global interest rates will remain stable. Asian markets also traded firmly higher on Friday.
South Korea's Kospi jumped around 3 percent, supported by gains in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Japan's Nikkei, Australia's ASX, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite also traded in positive territory.
Indian equities posted strong gains for a second straight session on Thursday, with the Sensex closing above the 77,500 mark. A sharp rebound in IT stocks powered the rally.
The Nifty IT index surged 4.64 percent, led by Infosys, Persistent Systems, Coforge, Mphasis, TCS, Tech Mahindra, HCLTech and Wipro.
Foreign portfolio investors remained net sellers, offloading equities worth ₹311.82 crore. Domestic institutional investors more than offset the selling with net purchases of ₹1,784.40 crore.
Market breadth remained positive. On the BSE, 2,464 stocks advanced against 1,832 declines, while on the NSE, 2,214 shares gained and 1,131 fell.
Gold continued its powerful rally after weaker-than-expected US labour market data strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates.
US non-farm payrolls increased by only 72,000 in June, well below market expectations of 120,000, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.2 percent.
Spot gold climbed to an intraday high of $4,145 an ounce before settling at $4,123.90, up 2.27 percent. Early Friday, it crossed the $4,180 mark.
Most analysts remain bullish on gold, citing continued central bank purchases and expectations of lower interest rates.
However, Kevin Grady of Phoenix Futures believes gold could retreat to around $3,750 before resuming its upward trend.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold rose ₹2,480 to ₹1,06,800 per sovereign. Silver climbed more than 2 percent to $62.35 an ounce. Platinum traded at $1,654, palladium at $1,268 and rhodium at $7,700 an ounce.
Industrial metals ended mixed on Thursday. Copper rose 0.24 percent to $13,201.60 a tonne.
Aluminium slipped 0.30 percent to $3,074.21 amid expectations that prices could fall below $3,000. Zinc, lead and nickel also declined, while tin advanced.
International rubber prices continued to rise.
In Bangkok, RSS-1 was quoted at $285.10 per quintal and RSS-3 at $281.60.
In Kerala, RSS-4 rubber climbed to ₹26,900 per quintal.
Cocoa prices fell 1.49 percent to $5,016 a tonne after higher arrivals from Ivory Coast. Arabica coffee declined 2.52 percent to $3.02 per pound.
The US Dollar Index closed at 100.86 and eased further to around 100.80 on Friday morning. The euro strengthened to $1.1442 and the pound rose to $1.3363. The Japanese yen traded at 161.15 per dollar, while the Chinese yuan remained near 6.79.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury rose to 4.485 percent. Despite early gains, the Indian rupee weakened during Thursday's session, with the dollar closing at ₹95.39, up 14 paise.
In the offshore non-deliverable forward market, the dollar traded around ₹95.20 on Friday morning.
Crude oil prices were largely unchanged after reports of progress in ceasefire negotiations involving Iran.
Brent crude edged up $0.23 to $72.06 a barrel, while WTI crude traded near $68.90.
Cryptocurrency prices moved higher after expectations of a pause in US interest rate hikes improved investor sentiment.
Bitcoin rose 2.3 percent to above $61,400, while Ether climbed above $1,690 and Solana traded above $80.
Sensex: 77,502.12 (+0.75 percent)
Nifty 50: 24,175.70 (+0.71 percent)
Bank Nifty: 58,031.65 (-0.00 percent)
Mid cap 100: 62,307.90 (+0.48 percent)
Small cap 100: 19,167.80 (+1.25 percent)
Dow Jones: 52,900.07 (+1.14 percent)
S&P 500: 7,483.24 (+0.00 percent)
Nasdaq Composite: 25,832.67 (-0.80 percent)
US Dollar/₹: ₹95.39 (+₹0.14)
Gold (per ounce): $4,123.90 (+$91.60)
Gold (per sovereign, Kerala): ₹1,06,800 (+₹2,480)
Brent crude: $72.06 (+$0.23)