Indian stock market: 10 things that changed for market overnight- Gift Nifty, Nasdaq's drop, Apple earnings, gold rates

The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open lower on Friday amid mixed global market cues, and cautiousness ahead of the Union Budget 2026.

Asian markets traded higher, while the US stock market ended mostly lower overnight amid selling in technology stocks.

On Thursday, the Indian stock market extended its rally for the third consecutive session after the Economic Survey 2026 projected that the Indian economy would remain on a strong footing despite geopolitical challenges.

The Sensex gained 221.69 points, or 0.27%, to close at 82,566.37, while the Nifty 50 settled 76.15 points, or 0.30%, higher at 25,418.90.

“Markets are expected to remain range-bound, with stock-specific action likely to dominate in the run-up to the Budget 2026,” 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 higher on Friday after US President Donald Trump said that he would be announcing his pick for the next Federal Reserve chair today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.25%, and the Topix gained 0.58%. South Korea’s Kospi rallied 1.23%, while the Kosdaq added 0.99%. Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures indicated a lower opening.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 25,464 level, a discount of nearly 71 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a negative start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market ended mostly lower on Thursday, weighed down by selling in technology stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55.96 points, or 0.11%, to 49,071.56, while the S&P 500 fell 9.02 points, or 0.13%, to 6,969.01. The Nasdaq Composite closed 172.33 points, or 0.72%, lower at 23,685.12.

Microsoft stock price slumped 10%, Apple shares rose 0.72%, Nvidia share price gained 0.52%, while Tesla stock price shares declined 3.45%. Salesforce shares dropped 6.09%, Oracle shares fell 2.2%, Adobe stock price declined 2.6%, while Datadog shares tanked 8.8%.

Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire

US President Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to not fire on Kyiv for a week due to cold weather. “I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and various towns for a week, and he agreed to do that,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting, citing “extraordinary cold” in the region.

US Government Shutdown

President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats have reached a tentative deal to avert a disruptive US government shutdown as the White House continues to negotiate with Democrats on placing new limits on immigration raids that have provoked a national outcry, Bloomberg reported.

US Jobless Claims

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week from an upwardly revised level in the prior week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 209,000 for the week ended January 24. The prior week’s level of claims was revised up by 10,000 to 210,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 205,000 claims for the latest week.

Apple Q2 Results

Apple said it saw record-high earnings in the December quarter, with iPhone sales surging in greater China. The iPhone maker reported quarterly revenue of $143.8 billion, up 16% from a year earlier, topping analysts’ average estimate of $138.48 billion, while its net profit was $42.1 billion and gross margin was 48.2%.

Apple expects revenue for its fiscal second quarter ending March 2026 to grow 13% to 16%, versus a 10% rise that analysts expected, according to LSEG. It forecast a gross margin of 48% to 49% in the second quarter.

Gold Prices

Gold prices resumed its rally, after its first drop in nearly two weeks. Gold price rose 1.3% to $5,447.18 an ounce, while silver price advanced 2.4% to $118.43.

Dollar

The dollar was poised for a second straight weekly decline. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.2% to 96.35, trimming its weekly slide to 1.1%. The euro declined 0.2% to $1.194, the yen weakened 0.17% to 153.39 per dollar and Sterling fell 0.1% to $1.3791.

Crude Oil Prices

Crude oil prices fell after surging more than 3% in the previous session. Brent crude oil fell 0.10% to $70.64 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined 0.32% to $65.22.

(With inputs from Agencies)