[ad_1]
Sensex Today Live Updates : Asian stocks advanced, as the focus shifted from Middle East tensions to company earnings and economic data for insight into the direction of central bank policy.
Shares in Hong Kong outperformed with the benchmark gaining more than 2%. Gauges across the region recouped some of last week’s slide as traders took comfort in the absence of further escalation from Iran following Israel’s retaliatory strike.
Mainland Chinese shares opened mixed as the country’s lenders kept the loan prime rates steady. Most Asian chip stocks slumped after Nvidia tumbled 10%, the most in four years. Contracts for US equities edged higher after the Nasdaq 100 Index ended Friday with a 2.1% loss.
The dollar was weaker and the yield on 10-year US Treasury yields advanced as haven demand let up slightly. Investors over the world are recalibrating their positions after stronger-than-expected US data forced the Federal Reserve to reset the clock on its first interest rate cut.
US growth and the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation are due this week, which will help finesse bets on timing of any rate cuts. Investors must also absorb a hefty slate of Treasuries auctions.
Profits for the seven biggest growth companies in the S&P 500 — Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Nvidia, Meta Platforms Inc. and Tesla Inc. — are on course to surge 38% in the first quarter, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. When excluding them, the rest of the benchmark index’s profits are anticipated to shrink by 3.9%.
Meanwhile, the limited Israeli strike on Iran and the muted response from the Iranian leadership potentially provide an opportunity for the conflict between the long-term adversaries to scale back, for now, according to RBC Capital Markets.
Oil fell after its first back-to-back weekly decline this year as traders weighed the potential next steps from Iran and Israel. Gold slipped.
Elsewhere this week, inflation readings in Australia and Malaysia are due. Bank Indonesia will give a policy decision just as the currency comes under pressure, while earnings at global growth bellwether Caterpillar are due.
Sensex Today Live Updates : Asian markets, Gift Nifty firm, indicating gap-up open for Indian markets
Sensex Today Live Updates : Markets in India were likely to open on a positive note as focus shifted from the easing tensions between Israel and Iran to the company earnings.
Benchmark indices were also likely to open in the green, with the Gift Nifty trading at 22,273 at 8:30 am, more than 100 points ahead of Nifty 50’s Friday close of 22,147.
The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed sharply lower on Friday and Treasury yields dipped as investors juggled lackluster earnings, uncertainties surrounding central bank policy and geopolitical strife.
Gold and crude oil prices advanced as market participants kept an uneasy eye on unfolding turmoil in the Middle East.
The Dow was the lone gainer among the three major U.S. equity indexes, while the Nasdaq, weighed down by megacap tech and tech-related momentum stocks, slid 2.05%.
The session marked six straight daily declines for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, the longest losing streak since October 2022.
The S&P 500 and the Dow registered their steepest weekly percentage losses since March 2023, while the Nasdaq saw its largest weekly drop since November 2022.
Mounting tensions in the Middle East appeared to plateau after Tehran downplayed Israel’s retaliatory drone strike against Iran, a move that seemed geared toward averting regional escalation.
While first-quarter reporting season is still in its early stages, expectations have dimmed. Analysts now see aggregate S&P 500 earnings growth of 2.9% year-on-year, down from the 5.1% estimate on April 1, according to LSEG.
Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Friday that the Fed’s restrictive policy is “appropriate” given economic strength and the slower-than-expected process of bringing inflation down closer to its 2% target.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 211.02 points, or 0.56%, to 37,986.4, the S&P 500 lost 43.89 points, or 0.88%, to 4,967.23 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 319.49 points, or 2.05%, to 15,282.01.
European shares touched their lowest level in more than a month but closed well off their intraday trough as anxieties over strife in the Middle East eased and solid earnings provided some support.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.08% and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.84%.
Emerging market stocks lost 1.30%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 1.61% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 2.66%.
Crude oil prices dipped earlier as supply concerns eased. U.S. crude rose 0.50% to settle at $83.14 per barrel, while Brent settled at $87.29 per barrel, up 0.21% on the day.
Gold advanced, putting the safe-haven metal on track for its fifth straight weekly gain. Spot gold added 0.4% to $2,386.49 an ounce.
Download the App to get 14 days of unlimited access to Mint Premium absolutely free!
[ad_2]
Source link
