Stock Market LIVE Updates, Tuesday, September 3, 2024: Indian benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 are likely to open on a subdued note as indicated by the GIFT Nifty futures that were trading marginally ahead of Nifty futures last close.
At 7:05 AM, GIFT Nifty futures were at 25,344.50, slightly ahead of Nifty futures’ last close of 25,340.
Meanwhile, share markets around the world fell slightly on Monday as investors braced for a data-packed week culminating in a US jobs report that could decide whether a rate cut expected this month will be regular or super-sized.
Survey data released on Saturday showed Chinese manufacturing activity sank to a six-month low in August, and data on Monday showed euro zone factories are also still struggling.
Wins for the populist parties in German state elections added a fresh layer of political uncertainty in European markets, while a holiday in the United States and Canada made for thin liquidity.
Europe’s STOXX 600 index fell 0.21 per cent, after hitting a record high on Friday. Germany’s DAX and Britain’s FTSE 100 were down 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively.
Chinese stocks lost 1.7 per cent, led by losses in real estate after a survey showed home prices growth had slowed.
Futures for the US S&P 500 index were down 0.1 per cent, while those for the tech-laden Nasdaq 100 were flat.
That apart, Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors digested South Korea’s inflation numbers for August that were at its lowest on a year-on-year (YoY) basis since March 2021.
The country’s consumer price index recorded a 2 per cent rise YoY, coming down from July’s 2.6 per cent, and in line with expectations from a Reuters poll of economists.
South Korea’s Kospi was trading 0.17 per cent higher, and the small cap Kosdaq was marginally ahead by 0.02 per cent.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading 0.18 per cent higher in early trades, and the broader Topix was up 0.38 per cent.
However, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.39 per cent, and futures for mainland China’s CSI 300 was mostly flat at 3,267.5, compared to its previous close of 3,265.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 17,671, lower than the HSI’s last close of 17,691.97.
Traders in Asia would also be keeping a close on any fresh signs of economic troubles in China, after data on Saturday showed Chinese factory activity contracting for a fourth straight month in August.
The big event of the week will be the US non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which is expected to show the economy added 165,000 jobs in August, up from 114,000 in July.
Traders currently think a September Federal Reserve rate cut is nailed on and see a 33 per cent chance that it could be an outsized 50-basis point reduction, but that could shift on Friday.
Oil prices were little changed after falling in recent days. Brent crude held steady at $76.91 a barrel, down more than 5 per cent from a week earlier.
