Indian stock market: 7 key things that changed for market overnight - Gift Nifty, US tech stocks rally to gold prices

Indian stock market: The domestic equity market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open higher on Friday, following a rally in global markets.

Asian markets traded higher, while the US stock market rallied overnight led by technology stocks and signs of easing US-China trade war.

On Thursday, the Indian stock market indices ended lower on profit booking, snapping their seven-day winning streak.

The Sensex declined 315.06 points, or 0.39%, to close at 79,801.43, while the Nifty 50 settled 82.25 points, or 0.34%, lower at 24,246.70.

“This phase of consolidation in the index is in line with expectations and may continue in the coming sessions. Therefore, we recommend maintaining a focus on stock selection and using market dips as buying opportunities. Following their recent outperformance, banking and financial stocks may see some consolidation. Meanwhile, sectors like PSEs, metals, and pharmaceuticals could attract renewed interest, so plan your short-term positions accordingly,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded higher on Friday, tracking overnight rally on Wall Street led by tech stocks.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 0.91% and the Topix gained 0.88%. South Korea’s Kospi rallied 1.03% while the Kosdaq rose 0.6. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a higher opening.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 24,527 level, a premium of nearly 154 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a gap-up start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market ended higher on Thursday, extending its rally for a third straight session, led by technology stocks and signs of progress in the US-China tariff stand-off.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 486.83 points, or 1.23%, to 40,093.40, the S&P 500 gained 108.91 points, or 2.03%, to 5,484.77 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 457.99 points, or 2.74%, to 17,166.04.

Alphabet shares gained 2.38%, Microsoft stock price rallied 3.45%, Nvidia share price rose 3.62% and Apple stock price advanced 1.84%. Tesla stock price added 3.50%. ServiceNow stock price jumped 15.5%, while Hasbro shares spiked 14.6%.

Procter & Gamble shares declined by 3.7% and PepsiCo share price plunged 4.9%.

US Fed President John Williams

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said the Trump administration’s current trade policies will accelerate inflation this year, while adding that it’s critical for the US central bank to prevent longer-run expectations of price pressures from becoming unmoored, Reuters reported.

US Jobless Claims

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended April 19. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 222,000 claims for the latest week.

Gold Prices

Gold prices rose and were headed for a third consecutive week of gains. Spot gold prices gained 0.2% to $3,354.29 an ounce. Bullion hit a record high of $3,500.05 on Tuesday. US gold futures added 0.5% to $3,365.90.

Crude Oil Prices

Crude oil prices traded higher on Friday but were on track for a weekly loss. Brent crude futures gained 0.32% to $66.76 a barrel, on track to fall 2% for the week. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.30% to $62.98 a barrel but was set to decline 2.9% for the week.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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