Indian stock market: 8 key things that changed for market over weekend- Gift Nifty, Nikkei at record high to gold prices

Indian stock market: The equity market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open lower on Monday despite positive cues from global markets.

Asian markets traded higher, with the Japanese stock market hitting record high, while the US stock market ended mixed last week.

This week, investors will watch out for key stock market triggers, including the developments over US government shutdown, US FOMC meeting minutes, updates in the Israel-Hamas war, Q2 results, IPO activity, gold prices, trends in flow of foreign funds, and other key domestic and global macroeconomic data.

On Friday, the Indian stock market ended higher, led by fag-end buying, amid recovery in metal and banking stocks.

The Sensex rallied 223.86 points, or 0.28%, to close at 81,207.17, while the Nifty 50 settled 57.95 points, or 0.23%, higher at 24,894.25.

“Positive momentum is likely to sustain in the market, aided by accommodative monetary policy, a supportive monsoon season, and festive-led demand recovery,” 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, with Japanese markets hitting record highs after the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected fiscal dove Sanae Takaichi as its new leader and become the next prime minister.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 4.06%, surging past the 47,000 level for the first time, while the Topix rose over 3% to hit an all-time high. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures indicated a slightly higher open. Chinese and South Korean markets were closed for holidays.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 24,964 level, a discount of nearly 42 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a negative start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market ended mixed on Friday, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 registering record closing highs and the Nasdaq closing lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 238.56 points, or 0.51%, to 46,758.28, while the S&P 500 rose 0.44 points, or 0.01%, to 6,715.79. The Nasdaq Composite closed 63.54 points, or 0.28%, lower at 22,780.51. For the week, the Dow gained 1.1%, the S&P 500 also climbed 1.1% and the Nasdaq rose 1.3%.

Applied Materials shares declined 2.7%, Tesla stock price fell 1.4%, Nvidia share price dropped 0.70%, Apple shares rose 0.35%, while Advanced Micro Devices share price plunged nearly 3%. USA Rare Earth stock price jumped 14.3%.

Israel-Hamas War

Israel and Hamas prepared for indirect negotiations in Egypt on Monday, as hopes for a possible ceasefire began to build. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a truce and hostage release could take shape this week. The negotiations will take place after President Donald Trump welcomed the militant group’s statement that it has accepted some elements of the US plan.

US Services PMI

US services sector activity stalled in September amid a sharp slowdown in new orders. The survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed its non-manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 50 last month, the breakeven level, from 52.0 in August. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the services PMI easing to 51.7. The survey’s measure of new orders received by services businesses dropped to 50.4 from 56.0 in August.

Bitcoin Prices

Bitcoin prices hit a record high of $125,559.21 on Sunday buoyed by inflows into Bitcoin-linked exchange-traded funds and a broader risk rally around the US government shutdown. Bitcoin price was trading up nearly 1% at $123,538.23.

Dollar

The US dollar index was last at 98.073, retracing some recent losses. The yen tumbled against the US dollar by the most in five months. The yen sank 1.5% to 149.73 yen on the dollar, its biggest one-day slide since May 12. Sterling was down 0.3% at $1.34325, the euro was down 0.3% at $1.1710 and the offshore yuan traded at 7.14 yuan per dollar.

Gold Prices

Gold prices surged past $3,900 an ounce for the first time, driven by safe-haven demand. Spot gold price rose 0.4% to $3,900.40 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of $3,919.59 earlier in the session. US gold futures for December delivery gained 0.5% to $3,926.80.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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