Crude oil prices are easing, equities are rising, bond prices are recovering and market volatility is showing signs of calming down. The positive global cues are expected to support Indian markets on Friday. Asian markets are trading higher, while the pause in the dollar rally could provide relief to the rupee. Meanwhile, gold prices have resumed their upward movement.
Gift Nifty futures traded on the GIFT City exchange closed at 23,369 on Thursday night and touched 23,352.50 in early Friday trade, indicating a mildly positive opening for Indian equities.
However, developments within the Tata Group could influence the movement of group stocks today.
US markets, which fell on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s rate decision, made a sharp recovery on Thursday. Technology stocks led the rally, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 posting strong gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 316.14 points, or 0.61%, to close at 51,778.04. The S&P 500 climbed 85.95 points, or 1.14%, to 7,637.76. The Nasdaq Composite surged 439.88 points, or 1.69%, ending at 26,418.30.
Nvidia shares rose around 2.5% after CEO Jensen Huang said the company expects to sell twice as many chips next year compared with this year.
US stock futures were slightly negative in early trade. Dow futures were down 16 points (0.03%), S&P 500 futures declined 10 points (0.13%), and Nasdaq futures slipped 90 points (0.30%).
In the New York ADR market, HDFC Bank gained 1.25% during regular trading and closed 0.53% higher at $22.78 in extended trading.
ICICI Bank rose 0.11% during regular hours and ended unchanged at $28.18 in after-hours trading.
Infosys declined 0.09% during regular trading and extended losses to close 0.09% lower at $11.06.
Wipro, which remained flat during market hours, gained 2.01% in extended trading to close at $1.7138.
European equity markets ended higher on Thursday, supported by falling crude oil prices.
The UK’s FTSE index gained 1.19% after the Bank of England decided to keep interest rates unchanged.
Generac Holdings surged more than 18% after securing an $8 billion contract to supply generators for Amazon’s data centres.
Asian markets are trading higher on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei index gained 1%. Australia’s benchmark rose 0.25%. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.65%.
Taiwan’s benchmark index climbed 1.2%, while Shanghai gained 0.35%.
Indian equities remained volatile on Thursday. Although the benchmark indices witnessed multiple attempts to move higher, gains could not be sustained. However, midcap and smallcap stocks ended the session with strong gains.
Except banking and oil & gas sectors, all major industry groups ended higher. Realty, pharma, healthcare, defence, tourism, auto, capital markets and metals were among the leading gainers. Semiconductor stocks also witnessed strong buying interest.
Market breadth remained positive. On the BSE, 2,626 stocks gained while 1,712 declined. On the NSE, 2,249 stocks advanced against 1,269 losers.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued selling, recording a net outflow of ₹3,208.76 crore from the cash market. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth ₹3,617.75 crore.
The Sensex declined 21.86 points, or 0.03%, to close at 74,314.59. The Nifty50 gained 53 points, or 0.23%, ending at 23,270.60.
Bank Nifty fell 236.70 points, or 0.42%, to 56,055.75. The Nifty Midcap 100 index gained 557.90 points, or 0.92%, to close at 61,432.10, while the Smallcap 100 index rose 147.40 points, or 0.76%, to 19,535.70.
The Tata Sons board meeting held on Thursday appears to have deepened differences within the group regarding its future direction.
The board approved a five-year extension for N. Chandrasekaran as chairman. The decision was reportedly passed with Chandrasekaran’s casting vote. Among Tata Trust nominees, Noel Tata opposed the move, while Venu Srinivasan supported it.
Noel Tata later issued a statement questioning the legality of the decision. The board also decided to continue the process of listing Tata Sons as per Reserve Bank of India requirements, a move opposed by Noel Tata.
Tata Trusts, two charitable trusts associated with the Tata family, hold around 66% stake in Tata Sons. The Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group owns around 18%, while the remaining stake is held by other Tata Group companies.
The SP Group has been seeking ways to unlock the value of its stake amid debt pressures. Noel Tata had reportedly proposed alternative options to provide liquidity without an immediate listing.
Several Tata Group stocks gained on Thursday amid listing expectations, but market sentiment could change depending on further developments.
Despite expectations of further interest rate increases, gold prices resumed their rally. The precious metal gained nearly 2% on Thursday and continued rising in early Friday trade.
Gold futures gained $77.70, or 1.82%, to close at $4,342.70 per ounce. Prices touched $4,365 in early trade before easing slightly.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold prices declined by ₹440 per sovereign on Thursday to ₹1,12,080.
Silver surged 3.57% to close at $65.35 per ounce and moved higher to $65.92 in early trade.
Platinum stood at $1,781, palladium at $1,275 and rhodium at $8,500.
Rubber prices rise overseas
After falling for several sessions, rubber prices recovered in international markets.
In Bangkok, RSS 1 rubber rose to $280.20 per quintal, while RSS 3 reached $278.80.
In Kerala markets, prices remained steady at ₹27,400 per quintal.
Industrial metals, except copper, gained on Thursday.
Copper declined 1.58% to $14,000.40 per tonne. Aluminium rose 0.22% to $3,284.30.
Lead, zinc, tin and nickel also recorded gains.
Cocoa prices declined 6% to close at $5,620 per tonne.
Exports from Ivory Coast increased 18% last month to 2.14 million tonnes. Stocks at the ICE exchange reached a two-year high of 3.42 million bags.
Arabica coffee declined 1.70% to $2.77 per pound amid expectations of record Brazilian production. Brazil’s August exports increased 45%.
Palm oil declined 1.39% to 4,816 Malaysian ringgit per tonne.
The US dollar index, which strengthened after the Fed rate decision, closed at 100.25 on Thursday and eased slightly to 100.22 on Friday morning.
The euro strengthened to $1.1478, while the pound weakened to $1.3358. The Japanese yen traded at 156.26 per dollar. The Chinese yuan remained at 6.71 per dollar.
The yield on US 10-year Treasury bonds eased to 4.939%.
The rupee recovered after crossing the ₹96 mark against the dollar on Thursday morning. It closed at ₹95.93, down 3 paise.
The rupee is expected to gain further strength today as the dollar rally loses momentum.
In the offshore forward market, the dollar declined to ₹95.83.
The Chinese yuan traded at ₹14.30, while the euro stood at ₹110.14.
Crude oil prices fell after Saudi Arabia announced plans to increase oil sales through a southern route near Oman under US protection.
The move eased concerns over supply disruptions. Saudi Arabia plans to transfer crude between tankers in Omani waters, while US naval forces are expected to protect the route.
Brent crude declined $1.02 to close at $104.81 per barrel on Thursday and slipped further to $103.81 in early trade. WTI crude traded at $101.03 per barrel.
Cryptocurrency prices recovered after an initial decline.
Bitcoin moved above $76,500, while Ethereum traded above $2,450 and Solana crossed $101.75.
Sensex: 74,314.59 | -0.03%
Nifty 50: 23,270.60 | +0.23%
Bank Nifty: 56,055.75 | -0.42%
Midcap 100: 61,432.10 | +0.92%
Smallcap 100: 19,535.70 | +0.76%
Dow Jones: 51,778.04 | +0.61%
S&P 500: 7,637.76 | +1.14%
Nasdaq: 26,418.30 | +1.69%
Dollar: ₹95.93 | -₹0.03
Gold: $4,342.70/oz | +$77.70
Gold (Kerala, sovereign): ₹1,12,080 | -₹440
Brent crude: $104.82 | -$1.01