Sensex and Nifty 50, the key benchmarks of the Indian equity market, are likely to open on a positive note on Friday, despite mixed signals from global markets. Asian markets showed a mixed trend, while US markets closed mostly higher overnight, supported by retail sales and inflation data.
On Thursday, Indian equities posted strong gains across sectors, with the Nifty 50 surpassing the 25,000 level for the first time.
Domestic Market Recap
On Thursday, Indian indices closed in the green:
- Sensex surged by 1,200.18 points (1.48%) to close at 82,530.74
- Nifty 50 moved up by 395.20 points (1.60%) to settle at 25,062.10
Gift Nifty
Gift Nifty was trading near 25,178, around 100 points higher than the previous Nifty futures close, hinting at a positive start for Indian markets.
Wall Street Performance
US indices were providing mixed signals on releasing economic data
- Dow Jones: 271.69 pts (0.65%) to 42,322.75
- S&P 500: 24.35 pts (0.41%) to 5,916.93
- Nasdaq closed 0.18% lower by 34.49 at 19,112.32
Gold Prices
- Spot gold fell by 2% to $3,181.62/oz
- US gold futures slipped by 1.8% to $3,188.30
Major Global Events Driving Sentiment
- India Trade Deficit: India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to $26.42 billion in April, up from $21.54 billion in March. Exports rose 9.03% year-on-year to $38.49 billion, while imports saw a sharper 19.12% increase to $64.91 billion during the same period.
- India Unemployment Rate: In April 2025, India’s unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 and above stood at 5.1%, with male unemployment at 5.2% and female unemployment at 5%. According to the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) was 55.6%.
- US Jobless Claims: New US unemployment claims remained unchanged last week, with initial filings for state jobless benefits holding steady at a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ending 10 May.
- Japan GDP: Japan’s economy contracted for the first time in a year during the March quarter, shrinking at an annualised rate of 0.7%, far worse than the 0.2% decline forecasted by the market. This followed a revised 2.4% growth in the previous quarter. On a quarterly basis, GDP fell 0.2%, compared to an expected 0.1% drop.
- US Retail Sales: Retail sales in the US rose marginally by 0.1% in April, following a sharply revised 1.7% increase in March. Economists anticipated no growth after the 1.5% jump that had been reported in the prior month.
- US Producer Prices: Producer inflation in the US unexpectedly declined in April, with the Producer Price Index (PPI) falling by 0.5% month-over-month. This contrasted with expectations of a 0.3% increase.
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