The ceasefire agreement in West Asia, which is currently not in force, is nearing its end. There are no visible efforts to extend it, although there are also no clear indications of an imminent resumption of attacks. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has largely come to a standstill, pushing crude oil prices close to $89 a barrel.
Gold has risen above $4,400 an ounce as the US dollar index weakened.
Gift Nifty, which trades in the derivatives market at GIFT City, closed at 24,431 on Friday night. It slipped to 24,386 this morning, indicating that Indian equities could open significantly lower today.
Uncertainty over the geopolitical situation pushed US markets marginally lower on Friday. A decline in July retail sales and weaker consumer confidence in August also weighed on sentiment. However, the major indices still ended the week with gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 107.58 points, or 0.20 percent, to close at 53,732.41. The S&P 500 declined 13.23 points, or 0.17 percent, to 7,785.76, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 73.86 points, or 0.28 percent, to end at 26,729.16.
US stock futures are trading mixed this morning.
Dow Jones futures are down 35 points, or 0.07 percent. S&P 500 futures are up eight points, or 0.10 percent, while Nasdaq futures have gained 92 points, or 0.31 percent.
In the New York ADR market on Friday, HDFC Bank gained 1.17 percent during regular trading and rose another 0.13 percent in after-hours trading to close at $23.40.
ICICI Bank gained 0.88 percent during regular trading and remained unchanged in after-hours trading at $29.74.
Infosys fell 2.58 percent during regular trading but recovered 0.07 percent in after-hours trading to close at $12.10.
Wipro declined 1.02 percent during regular trading and remained unchanged in after-hours trading at $1.94.
European markets moved in different directions on Friday. Germany's benchmark index gained 0.53 percent, while most other major indices declined.
Asian markets are trading in different directions this morning.
South Korea's KOSPI has gained around 2.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei opened higher but subsequently slipped into negative territory. Australia's market is also trading lower.
Taiwan's benchmark index has posted a marginal gain. Hong Kong's Hang Seng has risen 0.90 percent, while Shanghai stocks are marginally higher.
Higher crude oil prices and continuing tensions in West Asia pulled Indian equities lower on Friday. All major sectors except media and consumer durables ended in the red.
Foreign investors were net buyers on Friday, purchasing shares worth ₹508.12 crore in the cash market. Domestic institutional investors were also net buyers, with purchases worth ₹356.40 crore.
The Sensex fell 70.71 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 78,009.25. The Nifty 50 declined 29.85 points, or 0.12 percent, to 24,366.00. Bank Nifty fell 144.15 points, or 0.25 percent, to 57,491.10.
The Nifty Midcap 100 declined 339.40 points, or 0.53 percent, to 63,782.15, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 136.55 points, or 0.69 percent, to 19,738.55.
Market breadth remained weak. On the BSE, 1,896 stocks advanced while 2,393 declined. On the NSE, 1,475 stocks gained and 1,843 fell.
Reliance Industries is making a major move into the defence sector through a partnership with Rolls-Royce. The companies have entered into an agreement to manufacture engines for India's Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme.
Voltas reported an 18.7 percent increase in revenue and a 52.2 percent rise in net profit for the June quarter.
Patanjali Foods reported a 29 percent increase in June-quarter revenue, while net profit surged 86 percent.
Kitex Garments has decided to raise ₹3,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement.
Cochin Shipyard reported a decline in both revenue and net profit for the June quarter. Revenue fell 6.9 percent to ₹910 crore, while net profit declined 27.7 percent to ₹135.8 crore.
Gold prices rose marginally on Friday amid expectations that the possibility of a US Federal Reserve rate hike is diminishing. The rally continued this morning, taking gold above $4,400 an ounce.
Gold gained $25.30 on Friday to close at $4,377.60 an ounce. It climbed to $4,417 this morning before easing to around $4,395.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold rose ₹1,120 per sovereign to ₹1,13,760.
Silver gained on Friday to close at $64.82 an ounce and rose further to $65.34 this morning.
Platinum stood at $1,755, palladium at $1,310 and rhodium at $8,550.
International rubber prices continued to decline, while prices in Kerala also fell.
In Bangkok, RSS 1 stood at $281.90 per quintal and RSS 3 at $278.50. In Kerala, RSS 4 declined to ₹27,900 per quintal.
Most industrial metals declined on Friday, but copper touched a record high.
Copper gained 1.81 percent to reach $14,542.50 a tonne. Aluminium declined 1.10 percent to $3,238.37. Zinc, lead and nickel also fell, while tin gained.
Cocoa prices rose 0.94 percent on Friday to $5,773 a tonne.
Ghana's cocoa board expects production to decline 16 percent because of adverse weather conditions. Production in Ivory Coast is also expected to fall by more than 10 percent. The two countries are the world's largest cocoa producers.
Production across Asia and Latin America is also estimated to decline by around 100,000 tonnes.
Arabica coffee prices gained 0.48 percent to $3.14 a pound. There are concerns that El Niño could reduce production next year.
The US dollar index fell on Friday to close at 99.67. It slipped further to 99.54 this morning.
The euro rose to $1.1578 and the pound to $1.3551. The Japanese yen stood at 159.04 per dollar, while the Chinese yuan remained at around 6.74 per dollar.
The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds rose to 4.684 percent this morning.
The Indian rupee ended marginally higher on Friday, with the dollar falling one paise to close at ₹95.43.
In the offshore non-deliverable forward (NDF) market, the dollar was trading at ₹95.59 this morning. The Chinese yuan eased to ₹14.13, while the euro rose to ₹110.21.
Crude oil prices rose on Friday amid continuing uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude gained $1.45 to close at $88.52 a barrel. It rose further to $88.92 this morning. WTI crude was trading at $82.54.
Cryptocurrencies continue to trade at lower levels with volatility.
Bitcoin fell below $63,000 this morning. Ether was below $1,890, while Solana was trading below $75.
Sensex 78,009.25 — -0.09%
Nifty 50 24,366.00 — -0.12%
Bank Nifty 57,491.10 — -0.25%
Nifty Midcap 100 63,782.15 — -0.53%
Nifty Smallcap 100 19,738.55 — -0.69%
Dow Jones 53,732.41 — -0.20%
S&P 500 7,785.76 — -0.17%
Nasdaq 26,729.16 — -0.28%
Dollar ₹95.43 — -₹0.01
Gold (ounce) $4,377.60 — +$25.30
Gold (sovereign) ₹1,13,760 — +₹1,120
Brent crude $88.52 — +$1.45