Efforts to end the wars involving Iran and Ukraine have failed. Crude oil prices have climbed close to $96 a barrel. With retail inflation crossing the tolerance limit, further interest rate increases now appear certain. The first phase of the Nvidia controversy has ended, but investors are keen to know when the company will get a permanent leadership team.
US stock markets closed lower on Thursday, but futures are trading higher on Friday morning. Most Asian markets, except China, are also gaining. However, the Indian market appears headed for a weak opening.
In derivatives trading at GIFT City, GIFT Nifty closed at 25,279.00 on Thursday night. On Friday morning, it rose to 25,347 before slipping to 25,240, indicating a lower opening for the Indian market.
India's retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 6.09% in October from 5.54% in September. This is the first time inflation has crossed the Reserve Bank of India's 6% tolerance limit since the introduction of the new inflation series.
Food inflation jumped to 8.94% from 7.74%. Analysts expect inflation to rise further.
The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee, which meets from December 2 to 4, is expected to raise the repo rate by 0.25 percentage points. Another increase is anticipated in February.
Nvidia's board has accepted the resignation of CEO Jensen Huang, who became embroiled in a controversy involving alleged espionage links. The company has appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO. Nvidia is scheduled to announce its third-quarter results on November 17.
Nvidia shares opened Thursday's session down 13% but recovered some losses to close 4.34% lower. The stock gained nearly 1% in after-hours trading.
Although some analysts had expected Huang's resignation to trigger a 20% decline in the stock, the fall was considerably smaller. Other AI and semiconductor companies ended Thursday with modest gains.
Nvidia shares, which touched $243.37 in early October, closed at $166.19 on Thursday. The company's market capitalisation has fallen from $5.88 trillion to $4.01 trillion, a decline of 31.8%.
Investors are now watching closely to see who will become Nvidia's permanent CEO.
US President Donald Trump has reportedly suggested Tim Cook, who led Apple after Steve Jobs until September, for the position. However, such an appointment appears unlikely. Nvidia is understood to have engaged an executive search firm to identify a successor.
Meanwhile, Jensen Huang has indicated that he will testify before a US congressional committee about his relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese woman suspected of espionage links. The FBI is continuing its investigation into whether Jensen Huang knew about Alice's alleged intelligence connections.
US stocks closed lower on Thursday despite posting gains during parts of the session, as developments surrounding Nvidia unsettled investors.
President Trump's announcement that he would no longer pursue an agreement with Iran pushed crude oil prices up more than 3%. Peace negotiations involving Ukraine also failed, reinforcing expectations that both conflicts could continue.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 189.40 points, or 0.36%, to 52,297.09. The S&P 500 declined 26.98 points, or 0.35%, to 7,592.40, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 100.10 points, or 0.39%, to close at 25,366.09.
Indian American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) showed mixed movements in New York on Thursday.
HDFC Bank declined 1.19% during regular trading and ended extended trading down 0.78% at $25.51.
ICICI Bank fell 1.01% during regular trading but recovered to finish extended trading 1.10% higher at $34.77.
Infosys declined 0.08% during regular trading and slipped a further 0.61% in xtended trading to $12.22.
Wipro lost 1.39% during regular trading and remained unchanged in extended trading at $2.13.
European stock markets ended Thursday with modest gains, supported by encouraging corporate earnings and better-than-expected UK GDP figures.
The UK economy grew 1.9% in the third quarter, compared with 1.4% in the second quarter.
Most Asian stock markets were trading higher on Friday morning. South Korea's Kospi rose 2.2%, while Japan's Nikkei gained 1.65%. Taiwan's benchmark index jumped 3%.
However, Australia's benchmark index declined 0.80%. China's Shanghai index was marginally lower, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.60%.
Indian equities once again surrendered much of their early gains on Thursday.
The Sensex and Nifty have shown weakening upward momentum over the past two sessions, even as Bank Nifty continued its strong rally. Mid-cap and small-cap stocks also recorded substantial gains.
The market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE rose to ₹512.27 lakh crore ($5.46 trillion). The NSE's market capitalisation stood at ₹508.27 lakh crore ($5.42 trillion).
India has consequently overtaken Taiwan to become the world's fifth-largest stock market by market capitalisation, behind the US, China, Japan and Hong Kong.
The broader market remained positive, with advancing stocks outnumbering decliners. On the BSE, 2,442 stocks gained and 2,011 declined. On the NSE, 2,072 stocks advanced, while 1,526 ended lower.
Foreign portfolio investors made net purchases worth ₹7,830.60 crore in the cash market on Thursday. Domestic institutional investors and funds recorded net sales of ₹6,331.17 crore.
The Sensex closed 31.61 points, or 0.04%, higher at 81,911.01. The Nifty 50 gained 44.30 points, or 0.18%, to finish at 25,299.35. Bank Nifty surged 726.10 points, or 1.19%, to 61,518.50.
The Nifty Midcap 100 advanced 519.90 points, or 0.85%, to 62,039.00, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 climbed 217.40 points, or 1.26%, to 19,706.75.
Oil India: Second-quarter revenue rose 1.4%, but operating profit declined 26.5%. Net profit fell 21.3%, while the operating profit margin narrowed to 37.2% from 51.3%.
Ola Electric: Second-quarter revenue plunged 39%, although the company's net loss narrowed marginally.
Hitachi Energy: Revenue surged 63.6%, while net profit grew 20.8%. Operating profit increased substantially, but margins contracted.
Vodafone Idea: The company's second-quarter net loss widened because of a decline in the value of its holdings. A rise in share prices had helped reduce losses in the first quarter. Revenue increased 1.7%, while net loss stood at ₹5,975 crore.
Dilip Buildcon: Second-quarter revenue increased 16.8%, but net profit declined 52.8%.
Expectations that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates by as much as 0.50 percentage points put renewed pressure on gold prices.
President Trump's announcement that the US would not pursue an agreement with Iran pushed crude oil prices higher, increasing concerns over inflation and further interest rate hikes.
The yield on US 10-year Treasury bonds also crossed 5.1%, adding to the pressure on bullion.
However, gold prices recovered on Friday morning. Gold fell $110.60, or 2.77%, to close at $3,878.40 an ounce on Thursday. On Friday morning, the price rose around 1% to $3,916.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold fell ₹1,600 per pavan on Thursday to ₹1,02,520.
Silver declined 3.10% to close at $50.19 an ounce on Wednesday. It was trading at $50.79 on Friday morning.
Platinum stood at $1,515 an ounce, palladium at $983 and rhodium at $8,575.
Rubber prices declined in international markets and Kerala. In Bangkok, RSS1 rubber was quoted at $277.00 per quintal, while RSS3 stood at $273.55. In Kerala, RSS4 rubber was priced at ₹29,100 per quintal.
Industrial metal prices continued to decline as concerns over prolonged wars and higher interest rates weighed on the market. Copper fell 1.18% to $13,711.65 a tonne, while aluminium declined 1.06% to $3,030.30. Zinc, tin and lead also weakened. Nickel, however, recorded gains.
Cocoa prices rose 2.79% to close at $5,187 a tonne, although they remain 9.52% lower over the past month.
A weather agency has warned that cocoa production in Ivory Coast could decline 25% during the 2026–27 season. The expected fall is attributed to El Niño conditions, which could reduce rainfall by as much as 27%. Dry weather is also affecting cocoa production in Ghana and Nigeria.
Arabica coffee prices jumped 3.95% to $2.75 a pound. Palm oil gained 0.68% to 4,440 Malaysian ringgit a tonne.
Expectations of further US interest rate hikes pushed the dollar index above 103 on Thursday. The index closed at 103.17 after a strong rally. On Friday morning, it touched 103.23 before easing.
The euro declined to $1.1061, while the British pound slipped to $1.3235. The dollar strengthened to 159.867 Japanese yen. The Chinese yuan remained at 6.67 against the dollar.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond rose to 5.125% on Friday morning.
The strengthening dollar and rising crude oil prices weighed on the Indian rupee. The dollar gained 35 paise on Thursday to close at ₹94.04.
In the offshore forward market, the dollar was quoted at ₹94.04 on Friday morning. The Chinese yuan strengthened to ₹14.10, while the euro rose to ₹104.02.
Crude oil prices surged more than 3% on Thursday as expectations grew that the ongoing wars would continue. Brent crude rose $3.06 to $95.82 a barrel. On Friday morning, Brent eased slightly to $95.69.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading at $88.50 a barrel.
Cryptocurrency prices recorded steep losses amid concerns over possible regulatory restrictions on the sector. Bitcoin fell to $70,673 before recovering marginally. It remained below $71,150. Ether was trading below $2,020, while Solana remained under $81.50.
(Thursday, November 12)
Sensex: 81,911.01 (+0.04%)
Nifty 50: 25,299.35 (+0.18%)
Bank Nifty: 61,518.50 (+1.19%)
Midcap 100: 62,039.00 (+0.85%)
Smallcap 100: 19,706.75 (+1.26%)
Dow Jones: 52,297.09 (-0.36%)
S&P 500: 7,592.40 (-0.35%)
Nasdaq: 25,366.09 (-0.39%)
US Dollar: ₹94.04 (+₹0.35)
Gold (ounce): $3,878.40 (-$110.60)
Gold (pavan): ₹1,02,520 (-₹1,600)
Brent Crude: $95.82 (+$3.06)