Ten Key Developments Impacting Indian Equities: Overnight Market Movements

Indian Stock Market to Open Cautiously Amid US-Iran Peace Deal Developments

The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open on a cautious note on Friday as investors closely monitor developments surrounding the US-Iran peace deal. Reports suggest that the US and Iran are working toward a draft agreement to extend their ceasefire for 60 days.

Asian markets rallied, while the US stock market ended higher overnight, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posting record closing highs. The equity market was closed for trading on Thursday due to the Bakri Id holiday.

On Wednesday, the Indian stock market ended slightly lower, extending losses for the second consecutive session, amid selling in select heavyweights. The Sensex declined 141.90 points, or 0.19%, to close at 75,867.80, while the Nifty 50 settled 6.55 points, or 0.03%, lower at 23,907.15.

Read also: Treasury Yields Experience Largest Increase in Two Weeks Following Release of Labor Market Data

Gift Nifty Today was trading around 23,881 level, a discount of nearly 116 points from the Nifty futures' previous close, indicating a gap-down start for the Indian stock market indices.

The US stock market ended higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posting record closing highs, as reports of the US-Iran peace deal boosted sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24.69 points, or 0.05%, to 50,668.97, while the S&P 500 gained 43.27 points, or 0.58%, to 7,563.63. The Nasdaq Composite closed 242.74 points, or 0.91%, higher at 26,917.47.

Key stocks that rallied in the US market include Nvidia, AMD, Microsoft, Apple, and Marvell Technology.

Read also: US-Iran Tensions Spark Uptick in Oil Prices Amid Global Market Decline

US inflation increased at its fastest pace in three years in April, driven by higher energy prices. The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index jumped 3.8% in the 12 months through April, the largest rise since May 2023. PCE inflation advanced by an unrevised 3.5% on a YoY basis in March. The index gained 0.4% on a MoM basis in April after shooting up 0.7% in March.

The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased marginally last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 215,000 for the week ended May 23. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 211,000 claims for the latest week.

Wipro's US-listed shares surged over 18% in Wall Street trading on Thursday, May 28, after the IT major announced its expanded partnership with ServiceNow to implement and scale the impact of agentic AI workflows across core enterprise functions.

Crude oil prices fell on hopes for a potential deal to extend the US-Iran ceasefire. Brent crude futures for August declined 0.50% to $92.24 a barrel, while US oil futures dropped 0.71% to $88.27 a barrel.

Gold prices rose as investors assessed reports of a US-Iran ceasefire deal. Spot gold price gained 0.4% to $4,512.79 per ounce. The metal was up about 0.1% for the week so far. US gold futures rose 0.2% to $4,543.10. Spot silver price rallied 0.7% to $76.17 per ounce.

The dollar extended its weakness against major currencies and was on track to end the week lower. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was largely flat at 98.997, and on track to end the week 0.3% lower. The euro fetched $1.1653, up 0.03%, while the pound traded flat at $1.3445. The Japanese yen strengthened to 159.27 per dollar.