Indian stock market: 10 key things that changed for market overnight – Gift Nifty, Walmart stock price to weak US dollar | Stock Market News

Indian stock market: The domestic equity market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open lower on Friday following losses in global markets amid weak investor sentiment.

Asian markets traded lower, while the US stock market declined overnight amid dampened risk-appetite.

On Thursday, the Indian stock market ended lower, with the benchmark Nifty 50 holding above 22,900 level.

The Sensex fell 203.22 points, or 0.27%, to close at 75,735.96, while the Nifty 50 settled 19.75 points, or 0.09%, lower at 22,913.15.

“We expect the Nifty to consolidate near its current levels in the absence of any fresh triggers, as it can be seen holding above 22,800 – 22,900 levels since the past seven trading sessions supported by buying at lower levels,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded mostly lower on Friday as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs threat dented investor sentiment.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.43%, while the Topix declined 0.33%. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.14%, and the Kosdaq fell 0.12%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a higher opening.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 22,873 level, a discount of nearly 70 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a negative start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market ended lower on Thursday after a downbeat forecast from Walmart dampened investor risk appetite.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 450.94 points, or 1.01%, to 44,176.65, while the S&P 500 fell 26.63 points, or 0.43%, to 6,117.52. The Nasdaq Composite closed 93.89 points, or 0.47%, lower at 19,962.36.

Walmart stock price plunged 6.5%, while Target and Costco Wholesale declined 2.0% and 2.6%, respectively. Palantir Technologies share price dropped 5.2%. US-listed shares of Alibaba Group rallied 8.1%. Hasbro stock price jumped 13.0%, while Baxter International shares gained 8.5%.

Walmart Share Price

Walmart share price declined 6.5% after the retail giant forecast sales and profit for the current year below Wall Street estimates. The company forecast adjusted earnings per share for the fiscal year ending January 2026 in the range of $2.50 to $2.60, below analysts’ expectations of $2.76, according to data compiled by LSEG. It said annual sales are expected to rise between 3% and 4%. Analysts had expected 4% growth.

US Jobless Claims

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 219,000 for the week ended February 15. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 215,000 claims for the latest week.

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Japan Inflation

Japanese inflation accelerated in January, as prices excluding fresh food rose 3.2% on-year. The core Consumer Price Index (CPI) was above market expectations of a 3.1% rise, and accelerated from 3.0% in December. Overall, inflation including volatile fresh food prices was up 4.0% on-year, speeding up from 3.6% in December.

Japan PMI

The au Jibun Bank Japan flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rebounded to 48.9 from 48.7 in January. In contrast to the weak manufacturing sector, the au Jibun Bank flash services PMI posted a further improvement to 53.1 in February from January’s final 53.0. The au Jibun Bank flash Japan composite PMI, which combines both manufacturing and service sector activity, gained to 51.6 from January’s 51.1.

Dollar

The US dollar was set for a third weekly drop in a row, while the Japanese yen shot to a 2-1/2 month high on Friday. The dollar index was last at 106.45 after touching its lowest for 2025 at 106.29 on Thursday. The yen strengthened to 149.285 per dollar, while the euro was steady at $1.0498. Sterling was at $1.2674. In offshore trade, the Chinese yuan was steady at 7.2419 per dollar.

Gold Prices

Gold prices were little changed on Friday but remained on track for an eighth successive weekly gain, Reuters reported. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,941.25 an ounce, while US gold futures were steady at $2,956.60.

Crude Oil Prices

Crude oil prices were headed for its biggest weekly gain since early January on increasing supply uncertainty. Brent crude oil gained 0.30% to $76.71 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.44% to $72.57, and was up almost 3% this week.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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