Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 are likely to open lower on Friday, as weak overnight global cues and steep tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump weighed on sentiment.

Asian markets traded in the red, and US stocks closed lower overnight as investors digested the impact of Trump’s tariff announcements and corporate earnings results.

However, on Thursday, Indian markets closed lower in a volatile session, as investor sentiment weakened following US tariffs on Indian goods.

Domestic Market Recap

On Thursday, Indian indices closed in the red:

• Sensex slumped by 296.28 points (0.36%) to close at 81,185.58
• Nifty 50 moved down by 86.70 points (0.35%) to settle at 24,768.35

Gift Nifty

Gift Nifty was trading near 24,725, around 146 points lower than the previous Nifty futures close, hinting at a negative start for Indian markets.

Wall Street Performance

The US stock market closed lower on Thursday, as investors reacted to the latest batch of corporate earnings and fresh economic data.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped by 330.30 points (0.74%) to close at 44,130.98.
• S&P 500 down by 23.51 points (0.37%), ending at 6,339.39.
• The Nasdaq Composite was trading lower by 7.23 points (0.03%), finishing at 21,122.45.

In July, the S&P 500 advanced 2.17%, the Nasdaq jumped 3.7%, and the Dow inched up by 0.08%.

Crude Oil Prices

• Brent crude surged by 0.06% to $71.74/barrel
• US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading 0.01% higher at $69.27/barrel

Overnight Major Global Events Driving Sentiment

1. Trump Tariffs: US President Donald Trump signed a broad executive order on Thursday to impose reciprocal tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on imports from multiple countries. The order imposes a 35% duty on many Canadian goods, a 50% duty on Brazilian products, a 25% duty on Indian imports, a 20% duty on Taiwanese items, and a 39% duty on goods from Switzerland.
2. US Jobless Claims: New applications for US unemployment benefits edged up last week. Initial state jobless claims increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 218,000 for the week ending July 26.
3. US Inflation: US inflation picked up in June as newly imposed tariffs raised prices for imported goods. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index climbed 0.3% last month after a revised 0.2% gain in May. On a year-over-year basis, the PCE index increased 2.6% in June, up from 2.4% in May.
4. Japan Manufacturing PMI: Japan’s manufacturing activity declined in July after showing brief signs of stabilisation in June. The S&P Global Japan manufacturing PMI slipped to 48.9 from 50.1, dropping below the 50.0 threshold that indicates contraction. The final reading closely matched the flash estimate of 48.8.
5. Apple Q3 Results: Apple posted $94.04 billion in revenue for its fiscal third quarter ending June 28, marking a nearly 10% increase year-over-year. Its earnings per share reached $1.57, surpassing expectations of $1.43. iPhone sales surged 13.5% to $44.58 billion, exceeding the projected $40.22 billion.

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