Indian stock market: 8 key things that changed for market overnight – Gift Nifty, US retail sales to Japan exports

Indian stock market: The domestic equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open lower on Wednesday, tracking weak global market cues amid cautiousness ahead of the US Federal Reserve policy decision.

Asian markets traded mixed, while the US stock market closed lower overnight, with the Dow Jones dropping for a ninth straight session.

Investors were largely focused on the Fed’s policy announcement later today, almost completely pricing in an interest rate cut of 25 basis points.

On Tuesday, the Indian stock market ended sharply lower, with both the benchmark indices slipping more than a percent each.

The Sensex crashed 1,064.12 points, or 1.30%, to close at 80,684.45, while the Nifty 50 settled 332.25 points, or 1.35%, lower at 24,336.00.

“While weak Asian cues weighed on the market sentiment, the record high trade deficit in November pushed the rupee to a new low which caused investors to run for cover triggering panic selling in domestic equities. We expect the sentiment to remain cautious with a weak bias over the next few days as investors await the US FOMC meeting outcome,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded mixed on Wednesday following overnight losses on Wall Street.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.4%, while the Topix rose 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.6%, while the Kosdaq declined 0.4%. Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures indicated a higher opening.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 24,365 level, a discount of nearly 50 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a negative start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market ended lower on Tuesday as investors exercised caution ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 267.58 points, or 0.61%, to 43,449.90, while the S&P 500 dropped 23.47 points, or 0.39%, to 6,050.61. The Nasdaq Composite ended 64.83 points, or 0.32%, lower at 20,109.06.

Tesla share price rallied 3.6%, while Pfizer shares jumped 4.7%, Nvidia shares fell 1.22% and Apple stock price gained 0.97%.

US Retail Sales

US retail sales increased more than expected in November. Retail sales jumped 0.7% last month after an upwardly revised 0.5% gain in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, advancing 0.5%. Retail sales increased 3.8% year-on-year (YoY) in November.

Japan Exports

Japan’s exports rose for a second straight month in November, data showed. Total exports rose 3.8% year-on-year (YoY) in November, more than a median market forecast for a 2.8% increase and following a 3.1% rise in October. Imports dropped 3.8% in November from a year earlier, compared with market forecasts for a 1% increase. As a result, Japan ran a trade deficit of 117.6 billion yen ($766.17 million) in November, compared with the forecast of a deficit of 688.9 billion yen.

Nissan-Honda Merger Talks

Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. are exploring a potential merger, Bloomberg reported, quoting people familiar with the matter, which would create a singular rival to Toyota Motor Corp. Honda is considering several options including a merger, capital tie-up or the establishment of a holding company. Nissan shares rose as much as 24% in early trading, while Honda’s stock fell as much as 3.4%.

Gold Prices

Gold prices firmed ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,649.09 per ounce, while US gold futures gained 0.1% to $2,665.40.

Dollar

The US dollar held steady against the yen and other major rivals. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rivals, was little changed, down 0.04% at 106.89. Against the yen, the dollar was up 0.12% at 153.65. Sterling was nearly flat at $1.27095, the euro sat at $1.0502, up 0.09% and the offshore yuan traded at 7.2885 per dollar, not far from a 13-month low.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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