Indian shares are anticipated to open quietly as the week begins, due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, uncertainties surrounding the U.S. election results, and persistent selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), all of which are likely to keep investors on edge.
On Friday, the Indian markets marked the Diwali Muhurat trading session with positive across-the-board performance. Both the BSE Sensex, comprising 30 stocks, and the broader NSE Nifty index increased by 0.4%.
This morning, Asian markets are experiencing slight gains amid cautious trading, with Japanese exchanges closed for a national holiday.
The U.S. dollar has softened as investors prepare for the U.S. presidential election slated for Tuesday and the Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement expected on Thursday.
Polls indicate that Democrat candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican counterpart Donald Trump are closely matched in the presidential race.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is anticipated to lower interest rates for a second time this year amidst receding inflation pressures.
Gold prices remain stable following Iran's threat to employ potent warheads against Israel in a potential forthcoming attack.
Oil prices continue their upward trajectory as OPEC+ has agreed to postpone a scheduled increase in oil output from December by one month.
In U.S. stock markets, shares closed with gains on Friday, buoyed by optimistic earnings reports from Amazon and Intel, enabling investors to overlook a lackluster jobs report.
The latest data reveals that the U.S. economy added only 12,000 jobs in October, recording the lowest job creation level since December 2020. This marks a decline from a downwardly revised figure of 223,000 jobs in September, influenced by hurricanes and labor strikes. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1%, consistent with predictions.
The Nasdaq Composite, focused on technology, rose by 0.8%, the Dow Jones increased by 0.7%, and the S&P 500 climbed by 0.4%.
In Europe, stock markets concluded trading on a positive note on Friday, spurred by robust corporate earnings.
The pan-European STOXX 600 surged by 1.1%. Germany's DAX rose by 0.9%, while both France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced by approximately 0.8%.
