The United States markets plunged once more, despite Nvidia’s strong third-quarter results. The broader market believes that the ongoing worry around artificial intelligence is far from over. After starting the day with impressive gains, US indices collapsed sharply by the close, dragging the momentum into Asia as well. However, the rebound in US futures early this morning offers some respite for Indian investors. The GIFT Nifty, which had opened with a deep fall, trimmed losses and moved to a mild decline.
Hopes of a US–Russia initiative for a peace formula in Ukraine have not made significant headway. Even so, crude oil prices have softened in global markets.
Market sceptics argue that the concern is not Nvidia’s business performance but the sustainability of AI-related infrastructure. Massive spending on data centres, networks, and energy supply is raising alarms. Observers point to the dot-com era, where companies laid optical fibre networks far in excess of demand, creating the real bubble. A similar pattern may be unfolding now, as vast data centres are being built even though computing hardware such as processors and memory do not have long lifespans and require expensive replacements.
In GIFT City derivative trading, Nifty closed at 26,145.00 on Thursday night and moved up to 26,215 this morning, suggesting a mildly positive start for Indian markets.
European markets recovered from early weakness and ended higher, encouraged by Nvidia’s results. However, reports of US secret attempts to negotiate a Russia–Ukraine settlement weighed on the continent’s major defence and aerospace stocks, pulling them down.
US markets opened with strong gains on Thursday, but the optimism quickly faded. Nvidia fell 3.15%, erasing early strength. The Dow, which was up more than 430 points at the start, eventually slipped by 1,128 points. The Nasdaq, after initially rising by around 600 points, ended with a fall of nearly 1,100 points.
Walmart delivered strong results earlier in the day and raised future guidance, sending its stock up by nearly 7%. The retail giant also shifted its listing to the Nasdaq, reflecting its growing technology footprint. Yet, the broader market remained under pressure.
By the end of Thursday’s session, the Dow Jones dropped 386.51 points (0.84%) to close at 45,752.26. The S&P 500 shed 103.40 points (1.56%) to finish at 6,538.76, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 486.18 points (2.16%) to close at 22,078.05.
US futures are trading higher this morning, with the Dow up 0.47%, the S&P 500 up 0.46%, and the Nasdaq up 0.38%.
Asian indices opened sharply lower following the US slump. Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.3% in early trade but later narrowed losses after October exports surged by 3.6%, beating expectations. Technology-heavy investment in AI hit SoftBank particularly hard, sending the stock down more than 11%.
Australia’s market slipped 1.5%, while South Korea’s Kospi, which surged recently, dropped 4%. Hong Kong declined 2% and China’s indices fell around 1.2%.
On Thursday, Indian markets moved higher in line with global cues and ended close to all-time highs. The Nifty came within 31 points of the 26,277.35-record mark. The Sensex, too, slipped back after nearing 85,978.25.
While foreign investors were net buyers, their purchases remained limited. Domestic funds also adopted a cautious stance. Banking, mid-cap and small-cap stocks saw sharp reversals after touching records. Broader market sentiment weakened as mid and small-cap indices slipped. The IT index, which opened strong, lost its gains later.
By the close, the Sensex rose 446.21 points (0.52%) to 85,632.68 and the Nifty gained 139.50 points (0.54%) to settle at 26,192.15. The Bank Nifty climbed 131.65 points (0.22%) to 59,347.70. The Nifty Midcap 100 edged up by just 14.50 points (0.02%), while the Smallcap 100 declined by 8.70 points (0.05%).
Market breadth stayed negative. On the BSE, 1,805 stocks advanced while 2,391 declined. On the NSE, 1,374 gained and 1,707 fell. As many as 101 NSE stocks hit new 52-week highs while 158 touched 52-week lows.
Foreign investors bought shares worth ₹283.65 crore, while domestic institutions purchased ₹824.46 crore.
Despite Thursday’s enthusiasm, today’s sentiment may be weighed down by global weakness. If Nifty holds support at 26,100, it may attempt to cross 26,277 soon. Resistance is expected near 26,240 and 26,280.
TCS will set up an AI-driven data centre named HyperVolt with an investment of ₹18,000 crore, half of which will be funded by private equity major TPG Terabyte.
Reliance Industries has stopped purchasing Russian crude oil.
Hyundai Motor India has acquired a 26.49% stake in a Tamil Nadu-based wind energy firm for ₹38.05 crore.
Zomato will soon share customer details with restaurants—but only with customer consent.
US private sector job growth and home sales for September and October exceeded expectations, dampening hopes of an early rate cut. Gold moved slightly lower as a result. It traded between $4,043 and $4,097 per ounce on Thursday before closing at $4,077.60, down $1.40. This morning, prices hovered between $4,059 and $4,088.
Silver settled at $51.59 per ounce. Platinum stood at $1,521, palladium at $1,363, and rhodium at $7,825.
Base metals showed divergence. Copper rose 0.05% to $10,789 per tonne, aluminium gained 0.45% to $2,814, while nickel, tin, zinc and lead weakened. Rubber prices moved up 0.12% to 172.80 cents per kilo. Cocoa surged 2.39% to $5,061 per tonne, while coffee eased by 0.24% and tea dropped 4.28%. Palm oil slipped 1.73%.
The dollar index moved between 100.03 and 100.36 and closed at 100.16. This morning it is slightly higher at 100.18. The euro climbed to $1.1529 and the pound to $1.3071. The Japanese yen traded at 157.38 per dollar and the Chinese yuan stayed at 7.11.
The Indian rupee weakened by 12 paise to close at 88.71. US unemployment rose marginally while private employment improved, reducing the likelihood of an early rate cut. Bond prices strengthened, pulling the 10-year Treasury yield down to 4.096%.
Reports of a secret US–Russia effort to explore a formula for ending the Ukraine war softened crude oil prices, though Ukraine has not accepted the proposal. Brent crude slipped 0.5% to $63.19 on Thursday and fell another 0.5% this morning to $62.78. WTI is at $58.40 and UAE’s Murban crude is at $64.34. Natural gas trades at $4.48.
Large investors exiting positions and increased short-selling pressure have dragged cryptocurrencies lower. In six weeks, global crypto market capitalisation has fallen by $1.2 trillion. Bitcoin dropped to $85,985 before recovering slightly and is still below $87,000 this morning. Ether fell to $2,789.78 and remains under $2,860. Solana slipped to $134.