Asian markets were mixed following Friday’s tech-driven rally on Wall Street, as investors look ahead to crucial U.S. inflation data due Tuesday.
Australian shares fell whereas Japanese and South Korean stocks rose. The futures contracts for benchmarks in Hong Kong gained ground.
The moves followed a Friday surge for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, which rose 2.3%, helped along by a record high for Microsoft Corp. The S&P 500 rose 1.6%. Markets are closed in Singapore and Malaysia for a holiday.
Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year U.S. bond was trading at 4.65% and Bitcoin was above 37,000-level. Brent crude was above at $81 a barrel, whereas WTI Crude was above $77-mark.
At 5:30 a.m., the GIFT Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India was down 58 points of 0.30% at 19,541.
India’s benchmark stock indices ended the Diwali special one-hour Muhurat trading session on a higher note, led by gains in I.T. and metal stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex Index ended above the 65,200 mark, whereas the NSE Nifty 50 scaled 19,500 during the trading session. Both indices ended at their highest levels since Oct. 20.
Overseas investors remained net sellers of Indian equities for the 13th day in a row on Friday. Foreign portfolio investors offloaded stocks worth Rs 261.8 crore, while domestic institutional investors remained net buyers and mopped up equities worth Rs 822.6 crore, the NSE data showed.
The Indian rupee weakened 5 paise to close at a record low of 83.34 against the U.S. dollar on Friday. Intraday, the local currency hit a fresh record low of 83.50.
Continue Reading. Read more on Business News by BloombergQuint.