Indian stock market: The domestic equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open on a cautious note on Thursday following weakness in global markets.

Asian markets traded lower, while the US stock market ended in the red, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its worst day in more than a month.

Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields reached a three-month high with investors reassessing the US Federal Reserve rate-cut outlook over the next few months against the backdrop of strong economic data and the upcoming US Presidential Elections 2024, Reuters reported.

On Wednesday, Indian stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, ended the volatile session with marginal losses.

The Sensex fell 138.74 points, or 0.17%, to close at 80,081.98, while the Nifty 50 settled 36.60 points, or 0.15%, lower at 24,435.50.

“While markets exhibited volatility in early trades, key indices erased gains in the second half to end marginally lower amid weakness in banking, power, oil & gas and realty shares. However, recovery in IT stocks helped markets pare losses. More than economic factors, it’s the FII selling in the current month that has been a key drag, while subdued quarterly earnings so far also kept the mood sluggish to negative,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded lower tracking overnight losses on Wall Street and economic data in the region.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.68%, while the Topix fell 0.82%. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi lost 0.32%, while the Kosdaq dropped 0.91%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a weaker open.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 24,520 level, a premium of nearly 40 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a positive start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market ended lower on Wednesday amid rising Treasury yields and selling in megacap stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 409.94 points, or 0.96%, to 42,514.95, while the S&P 500 fell 53.78 points, or 0.92%, to 5,797.42. The Nasdaq Composite ended 296.47 points, or 1.60%, lower at 18,276.65.

Nvidia stock price fell 2.81%, Apple shares declined 2.16%, Meta Platforms stock dropped 3.15% and Amazon share price slid 2.63%. Tesla stock price closed down, but gained 8% in after hours trading.

McDonald’s shares tumbled 5.12%. Coca-Cola stock fell 2.07% and Boeing shares dropped 1.76%.

US Home Sales

US existing home sales dropped to a 14-year low in September. Home sales fell 1.0% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.84 million units, the lowest level since October 2010. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home resales would be unchanged at a rate of 3.86 million units. Home resales decreased 3.5% YoY in September.

US Crude Inventories

US crude oil inventories rose sharply last week as imports ticked higher, while gasoline stocks rose unexpectedly, Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed. Crude inventories rose by 5.5 million barrels to 426 million barrels in the week ending October 18, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 270,000-barrel rise. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 346,000 barrels.

Beige Book Survey

US economic activity was little changed from September through early October while firms saw an uptick in hiring, said the US Federal Reserve’s latest temperature check on the health of the economy, which also showed that inflation pressures continued to moderate.

“On balance, economic activity was little changed in nearly all Districts since early September, though two Districts reported modest growth,” the Fed said in the survey known as the “Beige Book”.

Dollar

The US dollar traded close to a three-month high against major peers. The dollar index, which measures the currency against six rivals including the euro and yen, stood at 104.38, not far from the overnight high of 104.57, a level last seen on July 30.

US 10-year Treasury yields have reached a three-month high of 4.26% overnight.

Oil Prices

Crude oil prices traded higher, recouping some of the more than 1% losses from the previous session.

Brent crude futures rose 0.59% to $75.40, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 0.64% to $71.22 a barrel.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.