How Nifty set to open on expiry day: Gift Nifty signals weak start; global cues remain soft

Stock Market Today: Global markets were subdued on Tuesday as weak cues from Wall Street and softer crude prices kept risk appetite in check. GIFT Nifty slipped in early trade, signalling a muted start for domestic markets after Monday’s sharp decline.

GIFT Nifty signals weak open

The global markets were trading lower on Tuesday morning. The GIFT Nifty was down 80 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 25,960. The weak trend follows a sharp fall in domestic equities on Monday.

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The NSE Nifty 50 closed 225 points, or 0.86 per cent, lower at 25,960. The BSE Sensex dropped 610 points, or 0.71 per cent, to end at 85,102.

Asia markets

- Asian markets opened mostly lower, mirroring the overnight weakness in the US.
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.29 per cent, while the Topix slipped 0.17 per cent.
- South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.32 per cent, though the Kosdaq edged 0.18 per cent higher.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 25,763, nearly flat from the previous close of 25,765.26.

US markets

- US futures were little changed despite President Donald Trump approving the sale of Nvidia chips to China.
- Dow Jones futures hovered slightly below the flatline. S&P 500 futures gained less than 0.1 per cent, while Nasdaq 100 futures added a little over 0.1 per cent.

Trump warns of fresh tariffs

- President Trump said he may impose new tariffs on some agricultural imports, particularly Indian rice and Canadian fertiliser.
- He said he would “take care” of what he called the “dumping of Indian rice into the US.”
- The comments come amid prolonged trade negotiations with both India and Canada, with US farmers complaining that cheaper imports are hurting local competitiveness.

US dollar and rupee

- The US Dollar Index (DXY) was down 0.01 per cent at 99.10.
- The index compares the dollar against currencies such as the Euro, British Pound, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc and Swedish Krona.
- The Indian rupee depreciated 0.10 per cent to close at 90.08 against the dollar on 8 December.

Gold rate today

- Gold prices were steady but near record highs.
- The 24-carat gold rate stood at Rs 1,29,820 per 10 grams, down 0.37 per cent from the previous day.
- In Delhi, 24-carat gold was priced at Rs 1,29,590 per 10 grams.
- The 18-carat gold rate in India was Rs 97,365.

Crude oil

- Crude prices traded marginally lower on Tuesday.
- WTI crude was at Rs 58.85, down 0.05 per cent.
- Brent crude traded at Rs 62.48, lower by 0.02 per cent.

FII, DII activity

- Foreign institutional investors (FII) were net sellers of shares worth Rs 655.59 crore on 8 December, according to NSE provisional data.
- Domestic institutional investors (DII) were net buyers of shares worth Rs 2,542.49 crore, providing some cushion to the market