Sensex Today Live Updates : Most Asian equities rose after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell downplayed the prospect of further interest-rate hikes. The yen resumed losses after a sudden jump that hinted at official intervention.
Japan’s currency fell about 1% against the dollar in Asian trading, having surged late Wednesday in New York, suggesting that investors are skeptical that authorities will be able to prevent the currency from declining, given the wide interest rate differential with the dollar.
Japan’s top currency official Masato Kanda said he had nothing to say on whether officials intervened when asked in the aftermath of the move. An index of the dollar fell for a second day Thursday, reflecting the drop in US yields.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index reversed Wednedsay’s losses, with benchmarks in Australian and Hong Kong both advancing. Equities in South Korea and Japan fell. Futures for US shares also gained, suggesting a reversal from the previous session, when the S&P 500 closed lower. The market in mainland China is closed.
The Fed downplayed the potential for imminent rate hikes, offering a salve for bond markets, and said it will shrink its balance sheet at a slower pace to ease strains in money markets.
Treasuries were little changed in Asia after climbing Wednesday. Swaps traders boosted bets on policy easing in 2024. Australian and New Zealand yields declined Thursday, following Wednesday’s move in Treasuries.
Powell said it’s unlikely the Fed’s next move would be to raise rates, saying authorities would need to see persuasive evidence that policy is not tight enough to bring inflation back toward the central bank’s 2% target.
While the Fed signaled it’s not planning to cut rates so soon, the fact that officials are slowing the pace at which they shrink their balance sheet, it will mean less upward pressure on bond yields, according to Sonu Varghese at Carson Group.
In the plan unveiled Wednesday, the Fed said it will lower the monthly cap on how much Treasuries it will allow to mature without being reinvested, to $25 billion from $60 billion, while keeping the cap for mortgage-backed securities unchanged at $35 billion.
In commodities, oil held a slump as a jump in US crude inventories to the highest since June added to concerns about weakening demand. Elsewhere, gold advanced.
Sensex Today Live : Benchmark indices red at pre-open
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices were red at pre-open on Thursday, following global markets down.
Sensex was down 80.34 points, or 0.11%, at 74,402.44, and Nifty was down 37 points, or 0.16%, at 22,567.85 during pre-open.
Sensex Today Live : Nuvoco Vistas net profit drops 50% in Q4FY24
Sensex Today Live : The cement manufacturer reported a net profit of ₹100.35 crore for the January-March FY24 quarter, a sharp 50% drop compared to the same period last year. Despite a tax write-back boosting profit in Q4FY23, the operating numbers remained strong. The company’s revenue from operations increased by 0.2% year over year to ₹2,933.4 crore for the quarter.
Sensex Today Live : RVNL bags ₹390 crore contract from Eastern Railway, shares in focus
Sensex Today Live : The government-owned railway firm has been declared the lowest bidder for a project valued at ₹390.97 crore from Eastern Railway. The project involves the construction of the Sitarampur bypass line under the Asansol division of Eastern Railway.
Sensex Today Live : What to expect from Indian stock market in trade on May 2
Sensex Today Live : The Indian stock market’s key indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are predicted to commence trading on a positive note this Thursday, despite mixed signals from the global markets. The Gift Nifty trends suggest a promising start for the Indian benchmark index, trading around the 22,740 level, which is nearly 25 points higher than the previous close of Nifty futures.
On Tuesday, the domestic equity indices concluded on a lower note, with the Nifty 50 maintaining above the 22,600 level. The Nifty 50 chart depicted a small negative candle with an upper shadow.
Nagaraj Shetti, a Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, interpreted this pattern as an indication of significant overhead resistance in the market around the 22,800 levels. He stated, “The larger degree of higher tops and bottoms remains intact, and Nifty is currently positioned to form a new higher top of the pattern. We would need substantial weakness from here to consider this a top reversal pattern.” (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Eight key things that changed for market overnight – Gift Nifty, US Federal Reserve policy to oil price
Sensex Today Live : The Indian stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are anticipated to commence trading on a positive note this Thursday, despite a sense of caution due to mixed signals from global markets. Asian markets were on a downward trend, while the US stock market showed a mixed performance after the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision was announced.
The US Federal Reserve maintained the benchmark interest rates as they were, expressing its dissatisfaction about the absence of significant progress in reducing inflation to its target of 2%. Jerome Powell, the Chair of the Federal Reserve, minimized the likelihood of interest rate increases. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve announced its intention to reduce its balance sheet at a more gradual pace to ease pressure on money markets.
Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, expressed optimism about the market’s future. He stated, “We foresee the market maintaining its upward trajectory, bolstered by robust buying from Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) and retail investors, especially with the upcoming Q4 results season.” (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Markets in India likely to open stronger as US rate cut hopes remain alive; company earnings in focus
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices were likely to start on a positive note, after having closed lower on the last trading day of the previous month. With US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell downplaying the potential for imminent rate hikes, and rate cuts still in the picture later this year, investors were likely to shed any lingering inhibitions and focus on companies reporting March quarter results today.
At 8:25 am, the Gift Nifty futures was trading at 22,745, nearly 150 points ahead of Nifty 50’s Tuesday’s close of 22,604. Markets were closed in India on Wednesday, May 1, for Maharashtra Day.
Asian stocks got off to a shaky start on Thursday after the Federal Reserve flagged delays to interest rate cuts, while the dollar fell heavily on the yen in what traders reckoned was Japanese intervention.
Oil fell sharply overnight as the prospect of cuts seemed more distant and after a surprise jump in US stocks, with Brent crude futures hitting a seven-week low of $83.44.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.7% at the open and South Korean shares lost 0.5%. Australian shares were flat. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% after the cash index had closed 0.3% lower overnight.
The dollar’s value fell by almost five yen in 40 minutes of late New York trade to touch 153 yen. It was last at 155.63 yen, having traded around 157.5 before the sudden dive.
The move follows sharp yen gains on Monday which Japanese money market data suggested may have been intervention to the tune of some $35 billion in dollar selling.
“There was an intervention (by Japan),” said Thierry Wizman, global foreign exchange and rates strategist at Macquarie, of the most recent yen leap. “They are trying to dissuade speculators from buying dollars and selling yen by making the experience painful for them.”
Earlier the Federal Reserve had left interest rates on hold and chair Jerome Powell told reporters that inflation was too high and progress in bringing it down was uncertain.
“There are paths to not cutting and there are paths to cutting. It’s really going to depend on the data,” he said.
Treasuries rallied, pushing yields lower, as the Fed also said it would slow down its balance-sheet runoff. Ten-year Treasury yields fell 9.3 basis points to 4,591% in New York. Two-year Treasury yields fell 10.7 bps to 4.939%.
Much of Asia is returning from a holiday that had closed markets on Wednesday, though Chinese bond, currency and stock markets remain shut through the rest of the week.
Outside of oil the stronger dollar weighed on other commodities. Copper prices fell in London. Gold rose overnight and was last holding at $2,324 in Asia trade.
