Indian stock market: 10 key things that changed for market overnight - Gift Nifty, Accenture Q2 results to BoE policy

Indian stock market: The domestic equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open on a muted note, following mixed cues from global markets.

Asian markets traded mixed, while the US stock market ended lower overnight as investors gauged key economic data.

On Thursday, the Indian stock market extended rally for the fourth consecutive session, with both the frontline indices surging over a percent each on across-the-board buying.

The Sensex jumped 899.01 points, or 1.19%, to close at 76,348.06, while the Nifty 50 settled 283.05 points, or 1.24%, higher at 23,190.65.

“With the Indian equities witnessing gains for the last four trading sessions; we expect the market recovery to continue in the near term, driven by continued buying interest and positive global cues,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded mixed on Friday, as overnight losses Wall Street weighed on equities.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.34% while the Topix rose 0.27%. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.16% and the Kosdaq fell 0.86%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a weaker opening.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 23,220 level, a premium of nearly 20 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a flat-to-positive start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market ended slightly lower on Thursday as investors gauged the latest round of economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 11.31 points, or 0.03%, to 41,953.32, while the S&P 500 fell 12.40 points, or 0.22%, to 5,662.89. The Nasdaq Composite closed 59.16 points, or 0.33%, lower at 17,691.63.

Accenture shares plunged 7.26%, Tesla stock price gained 0.17%, Nvidia share price rose 0.86%, while Apple stock declined 0.53%.

Accenture Q2 Results

Accenture reported a 5% year-on-year increase in revenue to $16.7 billion in December - February period, in line with the company’s guided range of $16.2 billion to %16.8 billion. The company narrowed the lower band of its full-year revenue growth outlook to 5-7% in local currency, from 4-7% earlier.

Revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 were $16.66 billion, an increase of 5% in US dollars and 8.5% in local currency. Gross margin for the quarter was 29.9%, against 30.9% in the year-ago period. Accenture expects revenues in the range of $16.9 billion to $17.5 billion in the third quarter of FY25

Bank of England Policy

The Bank of England kept interest rates on hold and warned investors against assuming they would be cut quickly. The BoE’s rate setters voted 8-1 to keep borrowing costs at 4.5%. Economists polled by Reuters had mostly forecast a less emphatic 7-2 ‘hold’ vote.

US Jobless Claims

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased slightly last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 223,000 for the week ended March 15. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 224,000 claims for the latest week.

Japan Core Inflation

Japan’s core inflation hit 3.0% in February and an index stripping away the effect of fuel rose at the fastest pace in nearly a year. The increase in the core consumer price index (CPI), which strips away the effect of volatile fresh food costs, compared with a median market forecast of a 2.9% gain. It slowed from the previous month’s 3.2% rise. A separate index that excludes the effects of both fresh food and fuel costs rose 2.6% in February from a year earlier after climbing 2.5% in January.

Dollar

The US dollar advanced and the euro softened after the Fed indicated it was in no rush to cut its key policy rate. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.41% to 103.80, with the euro down 0.44% at $1.0853. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.06% to 148.77, Reuters reported.

US Treasury Yields

US Treasury yields pared early losses as traders remained cautious about the U.S. economic outlook. The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes fell 1.9 basis points to 4.237%.The 30-year bond yield fell 1 basis point to 4.5565%. The 2-year note yield fell 1.8 basis points to 3.962%.

Gold Price Today

Gold held steady on Friday to trade below its record high hit in the previous session. Spot gold prices were flat at $3,043.89 an ounce. Bullion reached an all-time high of $3,057.21 per ounce in the previous session. US gold futures rose 0.3% to $3,051.90.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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