Indian stock market: 10 things that changed for market overnight - Gift Nifty, US consumer confidence to China rate cut

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

Asian markets traded in a range, while the US stock market ended higher overnight with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones closing at record highs.

On Tuesday, the Indian stock market indices ended flat after the benchmark Sensex hit 85,000-level for the first time, while the Nifty 50 surpassed the 26,000 level during the day.

The Sensex eased 14.57 points, or 0.02%, to close at 84,914.04, while the Nifty 50 settled 1.35 points, or 0.01%, higher at 25,940.40.

“Nifty crossed 1000 points’ journey in 38 trading sessions supported by positive domestic cues, healthy FIIs, and the start of the rate cut cycle by the US Fed. We expect the ongoing momentum to continue in the market with sectorial rotation,” 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 mostly higher tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, while China announced policy stimulus measures.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 eased marginally, but the Topix rose 0.3%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4%, while the Kosdaq gained 0.43%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures indicated a strong opening.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 25,925 level, a discount of nearly 20 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a negative start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market ended higher on Tuesday with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones closing at record highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 83.57 points, or 0.20%, to 42,208.22, while the S&P 500 rose 14.36 points, or 0.25%, to 5,732.93. The Nasdaq Composite closed 100.25 points, or 0.56%, higher at 18,074.52.

Nvidia stock price rallied 3.9%, while Microsoft shares declined 1.15% and Visa lost 5.49%. Freeport-McMoRan share price jumped 7.93%, Southern Copper stock price surged 7.22%, Albemarle advanced 1.97% and Arcadium Lithium shares gained 3.2%.

US-listed shares of Chinese companies such as Alibaba spiked 7.88%, PDD Holdings rallied 11.79% and Li Auto shares jumped 11.37%.

US Consumer Confidence

US consumer confidence dropped by the most in three years in September. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index dropped to 98.7 this month from an upwardly revised 105.6 in August. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index rising to 104.0 from the previously reported 103.3.

China rate cut

China’s central bank lowered the cost of its medium-term loans to banks. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said it cut the rate on 300 billion yuan ($42.66 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions to 2.00% from 2.30%, Reuters reported. The bid rates in Wednesday's operation ranged from 1.90% to 2.30%, and the total balance of MLF loans now stands at 6.878 trillion yuan.

Japan Service Sector Inflation

A leading indicator of Japan’s service-sector inflation held steady at 2.7% in August. The year-on-year gain in the services producer price index, which measures the price companies charge each other for services, matched a revised 2.7% gain in July, BOJ data showed.

Currencies

China’s yuan rose to its strongest level in over a year after Beijing announced policy support measures. The Chinese offshore yuan strengthened to 6.9946 per dollar, the strongest since May 2023, while the onshore yuan was at 7.0319 against the greenback.

OPEC

OPEC raised its forecasts for world oil demand for the medium and long term in an annual outlook. In its 2024 World Oil Outlook report, OPEC expects world oil demand to reach 118.9 million barrels a day (bpd) by 2045, around 2.9 million bpd higher than expected in last year’s report. The report rolled out its timeline to 2050 and expects demand to hit 120.1 million bpd by then.

Oil Prices

Crude oil prices extended gains after rising in the previous session. Brent crude futures gained 0.13% to $75.27 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.15% to $71.67 per barrel.

Gold Rate Today

Gold prices were steady near record highs amid a weaker dollar and an escalated conflict in the Middle East.

Spot gold held its ground at $2,658.07 per ounce. Bullion hit a record high of $2,664.25 on Tuesday. US gold futures edged 0.2% higher to $2,682.60.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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