LIVE updates from the stock market, Monday, October 7, 2024: GIFT Nifty futures, trading about 60 points ahead at 25,237 at 7:30 am, indicated markets in India were likely to start on a positive note on Monday, tracking gains in Wall Street and Asian peers.
On Friday, the stock indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were down around 1 percent each.
The Sensex fell 808.65 points, or 0.98 percent, to 81,688.45, while the Nifty 50 retreated 235.50 points, or 0.93 percent, to close at 25,014.60.
Broader indices also ended in the red, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 down 1.01 per cent and 0.90 per cent respectively.
Sectoral indices, including FMCG, Auto, Media, Realty and Oil & Gas, fell over 1 percent each, while the Nifty Media index fell 2.53 percent.
However, the IT and PSU Bank indices managed to post some gains and ended 0.45 percent and 0.61 percent higher, respectively.
Meanwhile, Asian shares rose and the dollar hit a new seven-week high against the yen on Monday after a hit in US labor data eased recession fears and fueled a sharp decline in interest rate cuts.
Short-term U.S. Treasury yields rose after Friday’s closely watched nonfarm payrolls report showed the economy unexpectedly created the most jobs in six months in September.
Crude oil prices fell after a one-month spike even as Israel bombed targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Monday marked one year since the Hamas attack that sparked the war.
Japan’s Nikkei led regional stock gains with a 2 percent rally as of 5:45 a.m., boosted by added momentum from a softer yen.
Australia’s stock benchmark rose 0.12 percent and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.29 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng had yet to open and stocks in mainland China will remain closed until Tuesday for Golden Week.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares rose 0.4 percent.
US Dow futures pointed 0.08 percent higher after the cash index closed at a record high on Friday following payroll data.
The US dollar rose for the first time since August 16 to 149.10 yen, before rising 0.18% to 148.87 yen in the last trading day.
Bets on a massive 50 basis point rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s next policy announcement on November 7 – which were above 50 percent a week ago – were completely wiped out after the payroll report.
Instead, traders are now 95 percent anticipating a quarter-point cut, with a slim chance that the policy rate will remain unchanged, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
At home, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reconstituted six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is expected to maintain the ‘status quo’ for the tenth consecutive policy review, said all ten respondents polled by Business Standard ahead of the panel meeting of October 7 to 9. The RBI will announce the review of the policy on October 9.
The decision to keep rates unchanged would be based on the continued risk of food inflation as daily retail prices, especially those of vegetables, continue to rise, respondents in the poll said.
Apart from that, the yield on two-year US Treasury notes rose 1.7 basis points to 3.9488 percent on Monday, the highest level in more than a month.
Gold fell 0.1 percent lower to $2,849.29 an ounce, but was not far from last month’s record peak of $2,685.42.
Crude oil prices fell after their biggest weekly gain in more than a year amid the growing threat of a region-wide war in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures lost 65 cents to $77.40 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 53 cents to $73.85 a barrel.
(With input from Reuters.)