Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Jan 23: Indian equity markets rebounded on Thursday after suffering losses of over 2 per cent in the previous three trading sessions. Market participants now expect domestic indices to take cues from global markets, key macroeconomic indicators and the ongoing quarterly earnings season.
According to market indicators, GIFT Nifty (earlier SGX Nifty) traded lower by 24.50 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 25,334.50 on the NSE IX, signalling a muted opening for Dalal Street on Friday.
From a technical perspective, analysts said the benchmark indices are likely to remain volatile in the short term. Immediate resistance is seen in the 25,480–25,500 range, while support is placed near the 25,125 level. The India VIX, which measures market volatility and investor fear, eased by 3.1 per cent to close at 13.35, indicating some cooling of nervousness in the market.
Global cues remained supportive. On Wall Street, major indices ended higher for the second consecutive session on Thursday as investors reacted positively after US President Donald Trump rolled back tariff threats against European allies. Data reflecting resilience in the US economy also boosted sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.63 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 0.55 per cent, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.91 per cent.
Asian markets followed the positive global trend on Friday. Japan’s Topix index rose 0.2 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 remained largely unchanged. Euro Stoxx 50 futures climbed 1.3 per cent. However, S&P 500 futures were flat during early Asian trade.
In currency markets, the US dollar remained under pressure and was headed for its biggest weekly decline in a year amid policy uncertainty and geopolitical concerns. The Japanese yen hovered near one-week lows ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy decision.
Meanwhile, precious metals continued their rally. Gold touched another record high on Friday, while silver and platinum also extended gains to hit all-time peaks, supported by geopolitical uncertainties, a weaker dollar and expectations of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.
On the domestic front, Bandhan Bank and Sammaan Capital entered the futures and options (F&O) ban list after crossing 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit.
In terms of institutional activity, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,549 crore on Thursday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), however, provided support to the market with net purchases worth Rs 4,223 crore.
The rupee also showed signs of recovery, rebounding from record low levels to close 7 paise higher at 91.58 against the US dollar on Thursday. The recovery was attributed to suspected Reserve Bank of India intervention and a positive trend in domestic equities.
Investors will now closely track quarterly results from major companies scheduled to announce earnings on Friday, including JSW Steel, Shriram Finance, BPCL, Godrej Consumer, Cipla, MCX and Piramal Finance.