Indian stock markets remain closed today on account of Guru Nanak Jayanti.
Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower on Thursday, extending losses for a sixth straight session as foreign investors continued selling domestic equities. The rupee settled at a new low of 84.41 against the dollar.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,482 crore on a net basis Thursday, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares to the extent of Rs 1,850 crore, according to provisional data from NSE.
In the year so far, FIIs have net sold shares worth Rs 2.83 lakh crore, while DIIs have bought Rs 5.52 lakh crore shares.
Asian stocks traded mostly higher this morning even as regional gains remained very modest after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would slash interest rates carefully amid inflation pressures.
The dollar extended its broad rally to hover near one-year highs while gold edged up slightly after falling over 1 percent on Thursday to hit a two-month low. Oil prices dipped due to concerns over oversupply and a stronger dollar.
U.S. stocks ended lower overnight after data showed producer price inflation rose in October and Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank does not need to rush to lower interest rates and can approach decisions carefully.
Data showed a higher-than-expected annual wholesale inflation rate of 2.4 percent in October, marking the highest level in three months.
Weekly jobless claims fell last week, suggesting the weak October government payrolls report was an anomaly.
Powell lauded the economy as “remarkably good”, the labor market as “solid” and noted that inflation was “running much closer” to the bank’s target.
The Dow dipped half a percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both shed around 0.6 percent.
The German DAX rallied 1.4 percent, France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 added half a percent.
