Stock Market LIVE Updates, Monday, September 30, 2024: Markets in India were likely headed for a muted start, as indicated by GIFT Nifty futures, tracking weakness in major global markets. 

At 7:15 AM, GIFT Nifty futures were at 26,314, around 30 points behind Nifty futures’ last close.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Indian equity benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 had surged to fresh all-time highs before retreating to close the last trading session of the week in negative territory.

At close, the BSE Sensex fell by 264 points, or 0.31 per cent, to finish at 85,571.85, having reached a record high of 85,978.25 earlier in the day. 

The Nifty 50 also hit an all-time high of 26,277.35 before ending the session down by 37.13 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 26,178.95. 

The broader indices, including the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100, also saw losses of 0.15 per cent and 0.10 per cent, respectively. 

Sectoral indices such as Bank Nifty, Media, Nifty Private Bank, and Realty, closed with declines of over 1 per cent each.

In contrast, the Nifty Oil & Gas index climbed by 2.37 per cent, while sectors like PSU Bank, Pharma, Metal, and IT saw gains of up to 1.15 per cent.

That apart, Asia share markets were mostly firmer on Monday as China announced more stimulus measures, though the Nikkei dived on concerns Japan’s new prime minister favoured normalising interest rates.

Continued Israeli strikes across Lebanon added geopolitical uncertainty to the mix, though oil prices were still weighed down by the risk of increased supply. 

The week is packed with major US economic data including a payrolls report that could decide whether the Federal Reserve delivers another outsized rate cut in November.

The Nikkei led the early action with a dive of 4.0 per cent as investors anxiously waited for more direction from new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has been critical of the Bank of Japan’s easy policies in the past.

However, he sounded more conciliatory over the weekend saying monetary policy “must remain accommodative” given the state of the economy.

That helped the dollar bounce 0.5 per cent to 142.85 yen, after sliding 1.8 per cent on Friday from a 146.49 top. 

Over in China, the central bank said it would tell banks to lower mortgage rates for existing home loans by the end of October, likely by 50 basis points on average.

That follows a barrage of monetary, fiscal and liquidity support measures announced last week in Beijing’s biggest stimulus package since the pandemic.

In the previous week, the blue-chip CSI300 and Shanghai Composite indices gained roughly 16 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 13 per cent.

On Monday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmed 0.2 per cent, having surged 6.1 per cent last
week to a seven-month high.

Wall Street also had a rousing week helped by a benign reading on core US inflation on Friday that left the door open to another half-point rate cut from the Fed.

Futures imply around a 53 per cent chance the Fed will ease by 50 basis points on November 7, though the presidential election two days earlier remains a major unknown.

A host of Fed speakers will have their say this week, led by Chair Jerome Powell later on Monday. Also due are data on job openings and private hiring, along with ISM surveys on manufacturing and services.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.1 per cent on Monday, while Nasdaq futures added 0.2 per cent. The S&P 500 index is up 20 per cent year-to-date and on track for its strongest January-September performance since 1997.

In currency markets, the dollar index was flat at 100.41 after easing 0.3 per cent last week. 

The euro zone releases its inflation figures this week, along with producer prices and unemployment. German inflation and retail sales are due later on Monday, while European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde speaks to parliament.

A softer dollar combined with lower bond yields to help gold reach record highs at $2,685 an ounce. It was last at $2,664 an ounce, and on track for its best quarter since 2016. 

Oil prices were erratic as concerns about possible increased supply from Saudi Arabia countered tensions in the Middle East.