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Market Review

US: US stocks were higher on Wednesday, with the Dow leading gains and the S&P 500 setting a closing record, paced drugmaker Merck, while investors looked towards the next piece of inflation data and Federal Reserve commentary for signals on the rate path.

Asia: Asian markets traded lower on Thursday, while the Australian stocks hit a record high. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.98%, while the Topix plunged 1.08%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.19%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a lower opening. Investors will watch out for the US Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, due on Good Friday, when the stock markets will remain closed.

India: The market erased previous session's losses helped by buying in heavyweights and auto, realty, power and capital goods stocks on March 27. At close, the Sensex was up 526.01 points, or 0.73%, at 72,996.31, and the Nifty was up 119 points, or 0.54%, at 22,123.70. Market is expected to open on flattish note and likely to witness sideways move during the day.

Global Economy: The Bank of Japan’s board was divided on whether the economy was strong enough to weather the end of its negative interest rates policy as many policymakers saw the need to go slow in phasing out ultra-loose monetary policy with one board member saying the economy’s health did not warrant rapid interest rate hikes, a summary of opinions at the bank’s March meeting showed. Australian retail sales rose modestly in February as packed Taylor Swift concerts boosted spending on clothing and eating out, though annual sales growth remained meagre as high interest rates ate into incomes. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday showed retail sales rose 0.3% in February from January, when they were up 1.1%.

Commodities: Gold price is back in the red below $2,200 in Asian trading on Thursday, snapping a two-day rebound. A scarce economic calendar in the US prompted investors to buy the Gold price on Wednesday, in the wake of rising speculation of a June Fed rate cut. All eyes on mid-tier US data. Global oil prices edged up on Thursday, recovering from two consecutive sessions of decline, as investors reassessed the latest U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories data and returned to buying mode.

Currency: The US dollar jumped against major currency peers on Thursday. The dollar index, a measure of the greenback against major peer currencies, ticked up and last held at 104.41.

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