Indian stock market: 8 key things that changed for market overnight – Gift Nifty, US inflation to TCS Q2 results

Indian stock market: The domestic equity market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open on a muted note on Friday tracking a mixed trend in global markets.

Asian markets traded higher, while the US stock market ended lower after the inflation rose higher than expected.

On Thursday, the Indian stock market closed with modest gains amid strong global cues.

The Sensex rose 144.31 points, or 0.18%, to close at 81,611.41, while the Nifty 50 settled 16.50 points, or 0.07%, higher at 24,998.45.

“Domestic broader market momentum was mixed with caution as the initial expectation of Q2FY25 results is subdued due to a subpar momentum in the global and rural demand,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded mostly higher after South Korea’s central bank delivered its first interest rate cut since March 2022.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3%, while the Topix gained 0.16%. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.8% and the Kosdaq rose 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated higher opening.

South Korea’s central bank has cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 25,085 level, a discount of nearly 35 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a weak start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market indexes ended lower on Thursday after higher-than-expected inflation data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57.88 points, or 0.14%, to 42,454.12, while the S&P 500 declined 11.99 points, or 0.21%, to 5,780.05. The Nasdaq Composite ended 9.57 points, or 0.05%, lower at 18,282.05.

Delta Air Lines share price dropped 1%, while American Airlines shares fell 1.4%. Pfizer stock price declined 2.8%.

US Inflation

US consumer prices rose slightly more than expected in September. The consumer price index increased 0.2% last month after gaining 0.2% in August. In the 12 months through September, the CPI climbed 2.4%. That was the smallest year-on-year rise since February 2021 and followed a 2.5% advance in August. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI edging up 0.1% and rising 2.3% year-on-year.

Jobless Claims

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits surged last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 33,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 258,000 for the week ended October 5. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 claims for the latest week.

TCS Q2 Results

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a 1.1% fall in net profit for the second quarter ended September to ₹11,909 crore from ₹12,040 crore, quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). The IT giant’s revenue from operations in Q2FY25 rose 2.6% to ₹64,259 crore from ₹62,613 crore in Q1FY25.

TCS Q2 EBIT inched up 0.1% QoQ to ₹15,465 crore, while EBIT margin contracted by 60 basis points (bps) to 24.1% from 24.7% in the preceding quarter. TCS also declared the second interim dividend of ₹10 per share.

US Federal Reserve

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic on Thursday said he would be “totally comfortable” skipping an interest-rate cut at an upcoming meeting of the US central bank, adding that the “choppiness”in recent data on inflation and employment may warrant leaving rates on hold in November, Reuters reported.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said he sees “gradual” rate cuts over the next year-and-a-half, while the New York Fed’s John Williams said he still sees rate reductions ahead.

Oil Prices

Crude oil prices declined after an overnight rally of 3%. Brent crude oil fell 0.34% to $79.13 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined 0.29% to $75.63.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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