Sensex and Nifty 50 are likely to open lower on Friday as overnight weak global sentiment weighs on investor confidence. While Asian markets traded in the red, Wall Street ended higher overnight after an appeals court reinstated President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.

However, on Thursday, Indian equities closed higher, driven by last-hour buying in select blue-chip stocks.

Domestic Market Recap

On Thursday, Indian indices closed in the green:

• Sensex gained by 320.70 points (0.39%) to close at 81,633.02
• Nifty 50 moved up by 81.15 points (0.33%) to settle at 24,833.60

Gift Nifty

Gift Nifty was trading near 24,940, around 2 points lower than the previous Nifty futures close, hinting at a lacklustre start for Indian markets.

Wall Street Performance

The US stock market closed higher on Thursday as investors reacted to a court decision that reinstated President Donald Trump’s broad tariff measures.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average gained by 117.03 (0.28%) points to close at 42,215.73.
• S&P 500 surged by 23.62 points (0.40%), ending at 5,912.17.
• Nasdaq Composite shot up 74.93 points (0.39%), finishing at 19,175.87.

Overnight Major Global Events Driving Sentiment

1. Trump Tariffs: A federal appeals court in Washington temporarily reinstated President Donald Trump’s broad tariff measures. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit halted the lower court’s ruling while it reviewed the government’s appeal.
2. US GDP: The US economy shrank less than initially expected in the first quarter of 2025. GDP declined at an annualized rate of 0.2% between January and March, slightly better than the earlier 0.3% contraction estimate. However, it marked a significant reversal from the 2.4% growth recorded in Q4 2024 and confirmed the first economic contraction since 2022.
3. Fed Chair Jerome Powell: President Trump summoned Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to the White House, telling him it was a “mistake” not to cut interest rates. After the meeting, the Fed stated that Powell refrained from discussing monetary policy projections and emphasized that future policy decisions would rely entirely on incoming economic data and its impact on the outlook.
4. US Jobless Claims: New unemployment claims in the US rose more than anticipated last week, hinting at a potential uptick in joblessness in May. Initial jobless claims climbed by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 240,000 for the week ending May 24. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected 230,000 claims.

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