Indian equities cooled off after briefly touching record highs on Thursday, closing almost flat as profit-booking weighed on late trade. With the US markets shut for Thanksgiving and global cues staying mixed, domestic indices are expected to open with a mild positive bias today. Early indications from GIFT City derivatives suggest a modest start, though investors may turn cautious ahead of the GDP numbers due this evening.
India will release the July–September quarter GDP data later today. The economy grew 7.8% in the first quarter, and market expectations hover around 7.5% this time. A print significantly below 7% may dent the central government’s confidence, especially since the Reserve Bank of India has already projected second-half growth below 7%. An IMF team that recently reviewed India expects full-year GDP growth at 6.6%. Any real market reaction to today’s data is likely only on Monday.
In overnight trade, GIFT Nifty closed at 26,410 and in early moves today touched 26,432 before easing, signalling a small opening gain for domestic equity benchmarks.
Europe recorded marginal gains as global activity slowed due to the US holiday. There was, however, one standout move: German sportswear brand Puma jumped 18.9% following a Bloomberg report that China’s Anta Sports is exploring a potential buyout.
With Wall Street closed on Thursday, movement in US futures remained modest. Early Friday trends showed the Dow up 0.10%, S&P 500 higher by 0.11%, and Nasdaq rising 0.15%.
Asian sentiment stayed mixed. The Nikkei slipped 0.20% after Tokyo inflation came in hotter than expected. Australia opened 0.15% higher, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped nearly 0.90%. Hong Kong added 0.10%, but China’s benchmark eased 0.20%, reflecting cautious risk appetite across the region.
Indian indices briefly rewrote their 14-month-old records on Thursday, with Nifty touching 26,310.45 and Sensex hitting 86,055.86 before slipping on profit-taking.
Foreign portfolio investors reversed their recent trend of buying and turned sellers, unloading ₹1,996 crore in NSE alone. After adjusting trades across NSE, BSE and MSEI, net foreign selling stood at ₹1,255 crore. Domestic institutions, however, provided strong support with net purchases of ₹3,940 crore.
Sector performance was mixed. Oil & gas, realty, PSU banks, auto and consumer durables ended lower, while financials, private banks, media and IT posted gains.
Sensex closed 110.87 points higher at 85,720.38 and Nifty ended 10.25 points up at 26,215.55. Bank Nifty rose 0.35% to 59,737.30. The small-cap index underperformed with a 0.53% decline.
Market breadth weakened. On BSE, 1,936 stocks advanced while 2,220 declined. On NSE, 1,476 advanced and 1,588 fell. Ninety-four stocks hit 52-week highs and 100 slipped to 52-week lows.
Analysts note the market seems to be entering another consolidation phase. Still, many traders believe the Nifty’s medium-term target of 26,600 remains intact. Supports lie at 26,160 and 26,115, while resistance zones are seen at 26,280 and 26,320.
Several stock-specific developments shaped sentiment:
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board approved a 12% increase in gas transportation tariffs for GAIL—much lower than the 20% expected by the market.
Lemon Tree Hotels acquired properties in Surat and Haridwar, adding 110 rooms and 60 rooms respectively.
Adani Defence Systems will acquire the majority stake in Prime Aero Services’ flight simulation training centre, purchasing 72.8% for ₹820 crore.
TCS signed a five-year deal with German software major SAP for cloud and AI transformation.
Bandhan Bank announced the sale of NPAs worth ₹6,900 crore to clean up its balance sheet.
Wipro secured a contract to modernise the IT systems of Dutch telecom player Odido.
NHAI imposed a one-month ban on Ashoka Buildcon following a fatal girder-collapse incident at NH-66 construction site in Kerala.
With US trading largely inactive for Thanksgiving, gold moved in small bands and ended slightly lower. Spot gold slipped $7.10 to close at $4,157.90 an ounce, against a holiday reference price of $4,180.
Brokerages remain bullish. Morgan Stanley expects gold to hit $4,500 by mid-2026, while Goldman Sachs forecasts prices crossing $4,900 by the end of 2026.
Silver closed at $53.23 an ounce. Platinum stood at $1,639, palladium at $1,410, and rhodium at $7,700.
Industrial metals drifted lower in thin trade. Copper fell 0.40% to $10,934 per tonne, aluminium eased 0.03% to $2,828.50, and nickel, lead and zinc weakened. Tin was the outlier, rising 1.07%.
Rubber edged up 0.64% to 173.10 cents per kg, cocoa rose 1.51% to $5,068 per tonne, coffee slipped 0.63% and tea remained unchanged. Palm oil climbed 1.67%.
The dollar index fell to 99.58. The greenback, however, strengthened marginally against the rupee, closing at ₹89.31. The euro eased to $1.1586 and the pound to $1.3229. The Japanese yen traded at 156.38 per dollar, while the yuan held steady at 7.08 per dollar.
US bond yields ticked up, with the 10-year Treasury yield rising to 4.004%.
Crude oil prices remained largely steady as uncertainty persisted around the proposed Ukraine peace talks. Brent crude edged up to $63.34 per barrel, WTI traded at $58.98 and UAE’s Murban at $65.29. Natural gas prices rose to $4.643.
Cryptocurrencies were mixed. Bitcoin climbed towards the $91,000 mark, while Ether hovered around $3,000. Solana slipped to $140 as traders booked profits after recent sharp gains.
