US-Iran Developments, Global Market Fluctuations Impact Indian Stock Market

Indian Stock Market Expected to Open Muted Ahead of RBI Policy Announcement

The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are anticipated to open on a subdued note on Friday, following mixed cues from global markets. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy decision later today will be closely watched by investors.

Asian markets traded sharply lower, while the US stock market ended mixed overnight, with the blue-chip Dow Jones hitting a record closing high. The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), led by Governor Sanjay Malhotra, is largely expected to maintain the repo rate unchanged, while the central bank's commentary on inflation, liquidity conditions, crude oil price risks, and the rupee will be closely monitored.

On Thursday, the Indian stock market ended the volatile and range-bound trading session flat with a positive bias, as investors turned cautious ahead of the key Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monetary policy announcement. The Sensex gained 13.84 points, or 0.02%, to close at 74,360.01, while the Nifty 50 settled 10.95 points, or 0.05%, higher at 23,416.55.

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Global Market Cues

Asian markets traded lower on Friday, following an overnight slump in US tech stocks. Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 1.82%, while the Topix eased 0.07%. South Korea's Kospi tanked 6.25%, while the Kosdaq plunged 2.41%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures indicated a lower opening.

US Market Update

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The US stock market ended mixed on Thursday amid progress toward ending the Iran war. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 874.86 points, or 1.73%, to 51,561.93, while the S&P 500 gained 30.63 points, or 0.41%, to 7,584.31. The Nasdaq Composite closed 23.02 points, or 0.09%, lower at 26,830.96.

Nvidia stock price rose 1.82%, while AMD shares declined 3.56%. Broadcom share price plunged 12.59%, Amazon shares gained 1.51%, Apple stock price rose 0.31%, Marvell Technology shares jumped 4.9%, Alphabet shares surged 3.82%, Micron Technology shares crashed 7.74%, and Qualcomm share price dropped 2.98%. Tesla stock price shed 1.24%.

Key Economic Indicators

The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 225,000 for the week ended May 30. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 213,000 claims for the latest week. The four-week moving average of claims increased only 6,500 to 214,750.

Commodity Prices

Gold prices traded lower, and were set for a weekly loss. Spot gold price declined 0.3% to $4,462.22 per ounce. It has fallen about 1.6% for the week so far. US gold futures for August delivery dropped 0.4% to $4,489. Spot silver fell 0.6% to $73.45 per ounce.

Crude oil prices were little changed following sharp declines in the previous session. Brent crude futures fell 0.22% to $95.24 a barrel after settling down 2.84% in the previous session. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $92.94 a barrel, down 0.11%, following a 3.1% loss on Thursday.

Currency Markets

The US dollar is on track for a weekly gain as Gulf tensions fuel safe-haven flows. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was little changed at 99.434, on track for a 0.5% gain for the week, Reuters reported. The yen weakened to 160 per dollar. The euro rose 0.02% to $1.1612, and sterling was steady at $1.34228.