Fears of higher interest rates have eased significantly. Crude oil prices remain relatively stable, while Iran faces mounting economic pressure. The US has said there will be no talks with Iran unless attacks in the Strait of Hormuz stop.
US stocks surged on Thursday, while Asian markets are trading higher this morning. However, Indian equities are showing little enthusiasm ahead of the opening.
Gift Nifty, which tracks the Nifty futures traded at GIFT City, closed at 24,072.50 on Thursday night. It rose to 24,079 this morning before slipping to 24,016, signalling a mildly positive opening for Indian markets.
The US bond market turned somewhat calmer, while crude oil prices saw little change. US equities posted a strong rally on Thursday.
Christopher Waller, a Federal Reserve governor with significant influence within the central bank, said he was not in favour of raising interest rates. Market expectations for a rate hike subsequently fell to around 50 percent from 70 percent earlier.
Vice-President JD Vance's call for lower interest rates could also add pressure on the Fed.
US Treasury yields eased, although mortgage rates remain elevated. The rate on a 30-year mortgage stands at 6.71 percent, while the average mortgage rate is 6.91 percent.
The August US jobs report, due today, will be closely watched. Non-farm payrolls are expected to have increased by 53,000, compared with a decline of 23,000 in July. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.1 percent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 624.16 points, or 1.18 percent, to close at 53,686.11 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 81.11 points, or 1.06 percent, to 7,747.71, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 366.23 points, or 1.40 percent, to 26,584.06.
AI chip giant Nvidia acquired open-source AI platform Hugging Face for $12.9 billion. Shares of the Magnificent Seven companies, including Nvidia, also posted strong gains.
Elon Musk unveiled Tesla's new Cybercab on Thursday, posting that it has no steering wheel or pedals. Although details of the invite-only event remained largely undisclosed, Tesla shares jumped 6 percent.
US stock futures are trading slightly higher this morning. Dow Jones futures are up 17 points, or 0.03 percent, while S&P 500 futures have gained 3 points, or 0.04 percent. Nasdaq futures are up 14 points, or 0.05 percent.
In New York's American Depositary Receipt (ADR) market, HDFC Bank rose 0.30 percent during regular trading before slipping 0.04 percent in after-hours trading to close at $23.27.
ICICI Bank fell 0.20 percent during regular trading and declined another 0.36 percent in after-hours trading to $30.41.
Infosys gained 1 percent during regular trading and remained unchanged in after-hours trading at $12.09. Wipro was unchanged at $1.80 in both sessions.
European equities advanced strongly on Thursday amid expectations that the cycle of interest rate increases will not continue. Luxury retail stocks, however, remained under pressure.
Asian markets are trading higher this morning. Japan's Nikkei is up 0.85 percent. Australia's market is down 0.10 percent, while South Korea's Kospi has gained 1.2 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has jumped 2.15 percent. Taiwan's benchmark is up 0.40 percent, while Shanghai has gained 0.85 percent.
Indian equities failed to sustain the initial optimism triggered by stronger-than-expected foreign exchange inflows. Despite a significant appreciation in the rupee and easing interest rate concerns, the stock market declined for the fourth consecutive session.
The closing auction session (CAS) significantly widened Thursday's losses. The Sensex was down just 16 points at the end of regular cash trading, but the final loss widened to 417.49 points after the auction. Participation in the CAS remains relatively low, meaning even small trades can cause significant price movements.
Foreign institutional investors were heavy sellers on Thursday, recording net sales of ₹2,345.87 crore in the cash market. Domestic funds, however, were net buyers to the tune of ₹4,977.46 crore.
The Sensex fell 417.49 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 76,570.35. The Nifty 50 declined 41 points, or 0.17 percent, to 23,873.45.
The Bank Nifty gained 208.60 points, or 0.36 percent, to 57,380.60. The Nifty Midcap 100 rose 233.60 points, or 0.37 percent, to 63,235.20, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 jumped 238.50 points, or 1.20 percent, to 20,050.75.
Market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,480 stocks advanced and 1,855 declined. On the NSE, 2,194 stocks gained while 1,295 fell.
Motilal Oswal Financial Services has raised its target prices for leading banks, citing foreign investment flows, and retained buy recommendations on most of them.
The revised target prices are:
SBI: ₹1,370
HDFC Bank: ₹925
ICICI Bank: ₹1,750
Axis Bank: ₹1,500
Federal Bank: ₹400
Punjab National Bank: ₹135
Canara Bank: ₹160
Indian Bank: ₹1,025
Gold shifted into a bullish phase as interest rate concerns eased. The precious metal climbed to $4,511.70 an ounce on Thursday before closing nearly 2 percent higher.
Gold gained $85.20, or 1.94 percent, to close at $4,474.20 an ounce. It rose to around $4,480 this morning before easing.
In Keralam, 22-carat gold rose ₹2,440 per sovereign on Thursday to ₹1,13,920. Prices could rise further today.
Silver gained around 2.5 percent to close at $67.11 an ounce.
Platinum stood at $1,813, palladium at $1,396 and rhodium at $8,925.
French bank Société Générale said in an analysis that gold could resume its bullish move once it decisively breaks the $4,500 resistance level.
Rubber prices declined again in both international markets and Keralam.
In Bangkok, RSS 1 fell to $278.30 per quintal and RSS 3 to $274.90. In Keralam, prices declined to ₹27,300 per quintal.
The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries expects global natural rubber production to reach 15.28 million tonnes this year, against consumption of 15.36 million tonnes.
Major industrial metals advanced on Thursday.
Copper rose 0.04 percent to $14,358.85 a tonne, while aluminium jumped 1.03 percent to $3,286.64. Lead and zinc declined, while tin and nickel gained.
Cocoa prices fell 1.58 percent to $6,174 a tonne, extending their decline for a second consecutive session.
Production in the 2026-27 season is expected to fall by 20 percent in Ivory Coast and 13 percent in Ghana.
Arabica coffee declined 0.92 percent to $2.954 a pound.
Palm oil surged 5.51 percent to 4,904 Malaysian ringgit a tonne.
The US Dollar Index declined on Thursday to close at 98.91. It rose to 98.99 this morning.
The euro strengthened to $1.1627 and the pound to $1.353. The Japanese yen gained to 155.98 per dollar, while the Chinese yuan remained at 6.72 per dollar.
The yield on US 10-year Treasury bonds fell to 4.768 percent.
The rupee posted a strong gain on Wednesday, with the dollar falling 48 paise to close at ₹94.49. The dollar had touched ₹94.27 during the session.
A stronger-than-expected rise in foreign exchange reserves helped the rupee climb to a two-month high.
In the offshore forward market, the dollar was trading at ₹94.50 this morning.
The Chinese yuan eased to ₹14.06, while the euro stood at ₹109.88.
Crude oil prices remained largely range-bound on Thursday. Brent crude edged down to close at $95.52 a barrel. It rose to $96.12 this morning before easing. WTI crude was trading at $91.80.
Cryptocurrencies surged by nearly 5 percent.
Bitcoin moved above $80,900, while Ether climbed above $2,500 and Solana above $103.50.
Sensex 76,152.86 -0.55%
Nifty 50 23,873.45 -0.17%
Bank Nifty 57,380.60 +0.36%
Nifty Midcap 100 63,235.20 +0.37%
Nifty Smallcap 100 20,050.75 +1.20%
Dow Jones 53,686.11 +1.18%
S&P 500 7,747.71 +1.06%
Nasdaq 26,584.06 +1.40%
Dollar ₹94.49 -₹0.48
Gold (ounce) $4,474.20 +$85.20
Gold (sovereign) ₹1,13,920 +₹2,440
Brent crude $95.52 -0.11%
