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US: Dow and other major stock indexes rallied Thursday after strong economic data, with the early release of U.S retail sales and initial unemployment claims.

Asia: Asian markets track the rally on Wall Street after U.S. economic data eased fears of a recession. Japan stocks led gains in Asia and were set for their best week in four years, with both the Nikkei 225 and Topix up over 2%, after Wall Street rallied overnight as fresh economic data eased recessionary fears.

India: Markets closed in the green supported by positive action in global markets. The domestic market traded within a narrow range; even as global markets saw a positive turnaround. Investors adopted a cautious stance due to weak domestic sentiment and the risk of earnings downgrades. Market is expected to open gap up and likely to witness positive move during the day.

Global economy: The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a one month-low last week, suggesting an orderly labor market slowdown remained in place, and dashing financial market hopes that the Fed Reserve could cut interest rates by 50 basis points next month. The economy's resilience was reinforced by other data showing retail sales increased by the most in 1-1/2 years in July. Investors have been on edge after a jump in the unemployment rate to a near three-year high of 4.3% in July sparked fears that the economy was either in recession or nearing a downturn, concerns not shared by most economists.

Britain's economy recorded a second quarter of strong growth as it recovered from last year's shallow recession but it lost momentum as it entered the second half of 2024, suggesting the Bank of England remains on course to cut interest rates again. GDP grew 0.6% in the 2nd quarter of 2024 after a 0.7% expansion in the first quarter which was the fastest in more than two years.

Commodities: Oil prices fell slightly in Asian trade on Friday, but were set for a second straight week of gains as optimism over a resilient U.S. economy and falling interest rates pushed up hopes of improving demand.

US gold prices were flat on Friday, after strong US economic data eased recession concerns and dampened expectations for an aggressive interest rate cut by the Fed Reserve next month.

Currency: The dollar hovered near a two-week high to the yen after its biggest one-day gain against major peers in four weeks as firm U.S. economic data all but eliminated fears about a recession.

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