Stock Market Updates: Sensex Flat, Nifty Holds 26,200; IT Stocks Shine

Indian equity benchmark indices were marginally higher at open on Friday, tracking overnight gains in the US and a positive trend in Asian markets.

Global Cues

That apart, most markets in the Asia-Pacific region advanced, led by gains in Chinese stocks. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up 2.43 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite was up 1.3 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.33 per cent, while the broader Topix index saw a slight decline of 0.23 per cent.

In South Korea, the Kospi slipped 0.07 per cent, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.15 per cent. Conversely, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.06 per cent.

That apart, global stock indexes reached record highs on Thursday after chipmaker Micron Technology’s upbeat forecast, while oil dropped on a media report that Saudi Arabia plans to dump its unofficial crude price target of $100 a barrel.

Silver rose to its highest level in nearly 12 years, with interest rate cuts by major central banks lifting investment interest in precious metals.

The S&P 500 registered an all-time closing high, as did the pan-European STOXX 600 index. MSCI’s global stock index hit an intraday record.