The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open higher on Wednesday, extending gains from previous session, after the India-EU trade deal.
Asian markets traded mixed, while the US stock market ended mostly higher, with the S&P 500 touching an intraday record high.
On Tuesday, the Indian stock market ended higher after the announcement of a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU).
The Sensex rallied 319.78 points, or 0.39%, to close at 81,857.48, while the Nifty 50 settled 126.75 points, or 0.51%, higher at 25,175.40.
“We expect markets to remain rangebound tracking global developments and geopolitical cues, while domestically, stock-specific movements are likely to be driven by the ongoing Q3 earnings season,” said Siddhartha Khemka – Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:
Asian Markets
Asian markets traded mixed on Wednesday, with South Korean indices hitting record highs. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.79%, while the Topix fell 0.97%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.27% and Kosdaq rallied 1.55%. Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures indicated a higher opening.
Gift Nifty Today
Gift Nifty was trading around 25,445 level, a premium of nearly 62 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a positive start for the Indian stock market indices.
Wall Street
US stock market ended mixed on Tuesday ahead of megacap earnings reports, with the S&P 500 recording its fifth straight day of gains and hitting an intraday record high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 408.99 points, or 0.83%, to 49,003.41, while the S&P 500 gained 28.37 points, or 0.41%, to 6,978.60. The Nasdaq Composite closed 215.74 points, or 0.91%, higher at 23,817.10.
Nvidia stock price rose 1.10%, Microsoft shares gained 2.19%, Apple share price rallied 1.12% and Tesla stock price declined 0.99%. UnitedHealth stock price plunged 19.61%, Humana shares crashed 21.13% and CVS Health tanked 14.15%. General Motors stock price rallied 8.77%.
US Consumer Confidence
US consumer confidence slumped to the lowest level in more than 11-1/2 years in January. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index plunged 9.7 points to 84.5 this month, the lowest level since May 2014. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index at 90.9.
Bank of Japan Meeting Minutes
Bank of Japan policymakers agreed on the need to keep raising interest rates, with some emphasising the role of a weak yen on underlying inflation and the timing of the next interest rate hike, minutes of their December meeting showed, Reuters reported.
Gold Prices
Gold prices surged above $5,200 an ounce to a record high, extending a historic rally on rising safe-haven demand amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Spot gold price rose 0.08% to $5,186.08 per ounce, after scaling a record $5,202.06. US gold futures gained 2.01% to $5,223.34 per ounce. Spot silver price was up 1.14% at $113.41 an ounce.
Crude Oil Prices
Crude oil prices traded flat. Brent crude oil fell 0.12% to $67.49 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.08% to $62.39.
(With inputs from Reuters)