7 key things that changed for market overnight - Gift Nifty to silver, gold prices

Stock Market Today: The Indian stock market benchmark indices - Sensex and Nifty 50 were expected to decline at opening on Friday, December 26, amid thin trade in a holiday-shortened week. Asian stocks edged higher in thin trade Friday as Japanese and South Korean shares gained while many regional markets remained shut for holidays.

Early indications from the Gift Nifty also pointed to a positive opening for Indian equities. The Gift Nifty was trading around the 26,143 mark, down 33 points or 0.13% compared with the previous close of Nifty futures.

Indian stock markets were closed in the previous session, December 25 on account of Christmas. Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 ended Wednesday, December 24, in the red, weighed down by profit booking in select heavyweight stocks such as Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank, even as global cues remained mixed. The Sensex slipped 116 points, or 0.14%, to close at 85,408.70, while the Nifty 50 declined 35 points, or 0.13%, to settle at 26,142.10.

"Indian equities moved largely sideways in a holiday-shortened week, with trading volumes remaining subdued as the year draws to a close—a trend mirrored across broader Asian markets. The RBI’s recently announced liquidity initiatives, including OMOs and a USD/INR buy–sell swap, are expected to improve systemic liquidity and help stabilise currency volatility," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

He added "On the global front, stronger-than-expected US GDP data points to economic resilience, although rising unemployment has tempered optimism. Looking ahead, market activity is likely to remain muted, though investors will be closely tracking developments on the trade front."

Here are the key things that changed since the stock market closed yesterday and may impact Sensex, Nifty 50 movement today:

Asian Markets

Asian equities inched higher on Friday in thin holiday trading, led by gains in Japanese and South Korean markets, while several regional bourses remained closed for the festive break. Precious metals continued to shine, with silver touching a fresh record and gold trading close to its all-time high.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index extended its year-end advance, rising for a sixth straight session. US equities had ended at record highs on Wednesday, while most markets across Asia, the US and Europe were shut on Thursday for Christmas Day.

Gift Nifty Today

The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a positive start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading near 26,143 level, down 33 points or 0.13% from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

Wall Street

A subdued pre-Christmas session on Wall Street still delivered fresh milestones, with US stocks climbing to record levels as incoming data eased fears of a sharp slowdown in the labour market. Signs that employment conditions are holding up continued to reinforce expectations of a soft landing for the US economy.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to settle at 6,932.05, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to close at 48,731.16. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also edged higher, adding 0.2% to end the session at 23,613.31.

US markets closed early on Wednesday for Christmas Eve and remained shut on Thursday for Christmas Day. Trading is set to resume for a full session today, Friday, although market participants expect volumes to stay light, with many investors having already wrapped up their positions for the year.

Japanese government bonds

Benchmark Japanese government bonds (JGBs) edged higher on Friday, as expectations of more restrained debt issuance helped pull yields back from multi-decade highs. The 10-year JGB yield slipped 1 basis point to 2.035%, easing from the 2.1% level touched on Monday, which marked its highest reading since 1999. Futures on the 10-year JGB rose 0.03 yen to 132.71.

Longer-dated JGB yields have climbed sharply since early November, repeatedly setting fresh highs amid concerns over the scale of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s debt-funded stimulus measures. Meanwhile, short-term yields have also remained under upward pressure after the Bank of Japan signalled it is prepared to continue raising interest rates.

Russia-Ukraine War

In a significant development in efforts to bring the Russia–Ukraine war to an end, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday shared details of a new US-led proposal aimed at halting the fighting that has continued since February 2022.

Zelensky reportedly said the plan had been agreed upon by negotiators from Kyiv and Washington and has now been sent to Moscow for its response. According to the media repots, the Ukrainian president said that consensus had been reached on several points during peace talks with the US, although the issue of territory remains unresolved.

Gold and silver Prices

Silver rose to a record and gold traded near an all-time high, with escalating geopolitical tensions helping to extend a historic rally for precious metals.

Spot silver extended its rally for a fifth consecutive session, surging as much as 2.7% to scale a fresh record above $73.78 an ounce. The recent upswing in the white metal has been driven by strong speculative inflows, along with persistent supply dislocations across key trading centres after a historic short squeeze witnessed in October.

Silver was trading 2.5% higher at $73.68 an ounce as of 8:18 a.m. in Singapore. Other precious metals also moved up, with gold rising 0.5% to $4,502.75, while platinum jumped 3.1% and palladium gained 2.3%.

Oil prices

Oil prices were on course for their strongest weekly rise since late October, as markets reacted to developments around a partial US blockade of crude shipments from Venezuela.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate held steady above $58 a barrel, up more than 3% for the week, marking its biggest weekly gain since the period ending October 24. The move followed reports that a sanctioned tanker, pursued by US forces, turned away from Venezuela, as the Trump administration stepped up pressure on the government in Caracas.

(With inputs from Agencies)