Gift Nifty, mixed trend in Asian markets to a fall in US stocks – key triggers for Indian stock market today

Asian markets traded mixed on Friday following overnight losses on Wall Street amid rising bond yields.

Japanese stocks declined, while investors elsewhere in the region awaited the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy statement after the central bank unexpectedly held rates at 4.1% on Tuesday.

In the US, data showed the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits increased slightly last week, while layoffs dropped to an 11-month low in July, labor department report showed.

A separate report showed that the US services sector slowed in July.

Investors will now focus on the jobs report for July that is due on Friday.

Asian Markets

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.47% and the Topix declined 0.45%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.26%, while the Kosdaq rose 0.19%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were trading around 280 points higher at 19,698.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 opened marginally lower.

Meanwhile, Gift Nifty was trading 32.50 points, or 0.17%, higher at 19,484.00, indicating a positive start for the Indian benchmark indices.

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Wall Street

US stocks ended marginally lower on Thursday amid surge in treasury yields after the release of latest economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 75.07 points, or 0.21%, to 35,207.45, while the S&P 500 declined 12.37 points, or 0.27%, to 4,501.02 points. The Nasdaq Composite ended 13.73 points, or 0.11%, lower at 13,957.99.

Among stocks, Apple shares eased in extended trade after the iPhone maker’s quarterly results beat forecasts.

Shares of Qualcomm tumbled 8.2% after it reported weaker revenue than expected, while Clorox climbed 9% on stronger than expected profit and revenue. PayPal Holdings crashed 12.3%.

Europe

European markets ended lower, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index falling 0.6%.

Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.4% at 7,529.16, while Germany’s DAX dropped 0.8% at 15,893.38. France’s CAC 40 fell 0.7% at 7,260.53.

Shares of German chipmaker Infineon sank 9.3% after its fourth quarter revenue forecast was below market expectations. Deutsche Lufthansa fell 5.5% despite its upbeat forecast for travel demand.

Shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, climbed 1.3% after it reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings.

Energy

Crude oil prices rose and were set for their sixth week of gains, after Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to cut output through next month.

Brent crude futures rose 0.22% to $85.33 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 0.31% to $81.80.

Bullion

Gold rose after hitting levels near a more than three-week low dragged by a strong dollar and elevated bond yields.

Spot gold was up 0.08% at $1,935.64 per ounce, while US gold futures rose 0.11% to $1,970.90.

(With inputs from Reuters)