Sensex Today | Share Market Live Updates : Positive global cues, Gift Nifty indicate strong open for Indian markets
Sensex Today | Share Market Live Updates : Asian stocks followed gains on Wall Street after better-than-expected US payrolls data on Friday. Oil fell as Israel said it would pull some troops out from Gaza.
Benchmark equity indexes advanced in Japan while futures in Hong Kong pointed to gains. Futures for US stocks edged higher after both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes climbed more than 1% on Friday. China’s financial markets reopen after a two-day holiday.
Treasuries ticked lower as traders dialed back the prospect of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year following the US jobs numbers. The unemployment rate edged lower to 3.8% in March, wages grew at a solid clip, and workforce participation rose, underscoring the strength of a labor market.
“Reasons to dismiss the employment data are becoming thinner” and lends support to the re-acceleration hypothesis, said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex. “The economy is still growing faster than what the Fed regards as the long-term non-inflation pace.”
Oil retreated more than 1% as traders monitored geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
In Asia, traders will be keeping a closer eye than usual on China’s daily yuan reference rate as markets reopen from a holiday. Investors will be looking for signs of official pushback after the currency weakened toward a no-go area last week. The fixing may signal whether Beijing will support the currency more vigorously or allow a moderate depreciation.
What China “discovered is that there was a heck of a lot more depreciation and selling pressure under the surface than they probably anticipated,” said Richard Franulovich head of foreign-exchange strategy at Westpac Banking Corp. “This is what happens periodically when you have a managed currency.”
The focus will soon shift to US March inflation data due mid-week. Prices may stay above the Fed’s target band, as first quarter corporate earnings season gears up with results from banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. due on Friday.
Stock bulls are starting to hedge their exposures as Fed rate cuts are pared and questions over how far the rally may go. Cboe Volatility Index, known as the VIX, touched the highest since November last week as the benchmark S&P 500 Index suffered its first weekly loss in three weeks.
Elsewhere, New Zealand’s central bank, the first to hike in the post-Covid tightening cycle, is expected to push back against easing bets when it delivers it decision this week. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is likely to keep its key rate unchanged as traders eye rate cuts within months. Minutes of the last meeting suggested a June easing is likely, while Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras last month said four cuts are possible this year.
Elsewhere, gold declined after surging to record prices last week.
