Stock Market LIVE Updates, Wednesday, September 25, 2024: Indian equity markets were likely to open on a muted note, as indicated by GIFT Nifty futures on Wednesday morning at 7:40 AM, when they were trading at 25,925, marginally below Nifty futures’ last close. 

However, the overnight rally on Wall Street could provide some upside to the Indian markets. 

On Tuesday, benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 achieved historic intraday highs on Tuesday, surpassing the 85,000 and 26,000 marks for the first time, but retreated before the closing bell. 

The 30-share Sensex peaked at 85,163 but closed slightly lower at 84,914, down 14.57 points, or 0.02 per cent, from the previous day. 

Similarly, the broader Nifty 50 reached an intraday high of 26,012 before settling at 25,940 — a new closing record — up 1.35 points, or 0.01 per cent. 

Across sectors, the biggest gainer was the Nifty Metal index, having climbed 2.97 per cent at close. Other indices that closed with gains were the IT, Auto, Pharma, and Oil & Gas indices. 

Meanwhile, the PSU Bank index was the top sectoral laggard, closing 0.86 per cent, followed by the FMCG index. 

Meanwhile, markets in the Asia-Pacific region were largely stable on Wednesday morning, while futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index indicated a potential 4 per cent increase when trading begins, with HSI futures at 19,763 compared to the last close of 19,000.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped slightly, while the broader Topix gained 0.3 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4 per cent, and the small-cap Kosdaq increased by 0.43 per cent. 

That apart, a widely followed global stock index rose to a record high and copper prices hit their strongest level in 10 weeks on Tuesday after China unveiled stimulus measures to support its economy.

The Dow and S&P 500 eked out record closing highs as mining stocks surged there. Oil prices climbed to a three-week high on the news from China, the world’s top crude importer.

People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng announced plans to lower borrowing costs and inject more funds into the economy, as well as to ease households’ mortgage repayment burden. The announcement included a planned 50 basis point cut to banks’ reserve requirement ratios.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83.57 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 42,208.22, the S&P 500 rose 14.36 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 5,732.93 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 100.25 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 18,074.52.

The S&P 500 briefly moved lower in early trading after data showed US consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in September amid mounting worries over the health of the country’s labour market.

Investors are looking for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next move after the US central bank began its latest easing cycle last week with a 50 basis point cut in interest rates.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 4.51 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 844.56, and hit a record high. The STOXX 600 index rose 0.65 per cent.

In commodities, US crude rose $1.19 to settle at $71.56 a barrel and Brent rose to $75.17 per barrel, up $1.27 on the day.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed by 2.7 per cent to $9,802 a metric ton by 1615 GMT after hitting its highest since July 15 at $9,825. China is a top metals consumer.

Spot gold rose 1.15 per cent to $2,658.69 an ounce.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.57 per cent to 100.35, with the euro up 0.59 per cent at $1.1178. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar weakened 0.31 per cent to 143.15.

US Treasury yields slipped in choppy trading as US data including the weak confidence numbers nudged up the possibility that the Fed could do another outsized rate cut at the November policy meeting.

US rate futures have priced in a 62 per cent chance of another rate cut of 50 bps at the November meeting, up from 54 per cent on Monday, LSEG data showed. 

In afternoon trading, the benchmark 10-year yield was slightly down at 3.733 per cent after earlier hitting a three-week high of 3.81 per cent.