US markets drag after PCE data aligns with estimates; S&P 500 & Nasdaq fall, GIFT Nifty down

The US markets mostly dragged on May 31 as Personal Consumption Expenditures Price (PCE) index rose 0.3 percent in the month of April, in line with the forecasts. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the data on May 31, showing consistent growth, similar to the 0.3 percent in March.

At 9:15pm IST, the S&P 500 fell 0.55 percent to 5,207. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.32 percent to 16,515.04, hit by stocks such as Dell, which extended losses by 22 percent today after reporting poor earnings yesterday. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.15 percent higher to 38,168.04.

The GIFT Nifty fell 0.15 percent to 22,653.50 despite Indian indices ending positive earlier during the day.

Indian indices broke their five-day losing streak and traded positive on Friday. Led by the gains in several heavyweight stocks, Nifty ended 0.19 percent higher at 22,530.70 and the Sensex was up 0.10 percent at 73,961.31. Top market gainers included HDFC Bank, ICIC Bank, L&T, Adani Enterprises, and Reliance, which traded between 3 to 7 percent higher.

The European markets edged higher owing to strong global cues and reignited hopes for rate cuts by the ECB and the Federal Reserve. The FTSE was up 0.54 percent at 8,275.38 and the CAC edged 0.18 percent higher to 7,992.87. However, the DAX traded flat-to-negative at 18,483.07 as retail sales in Germany fell more than expected in May.

Earlier during the day, the Asian indices traded mixed with the Nikkei surging 1.14 percent to 38,487.90 while the Hang Seng declined 0.83 percent to 18,079.61.

DIIs net purchased Rs 2,114.17 crores and FIIs/FPIs net bought Rs 1,613.24 crores in Indian equities.

Crude continued to fall for a third day in a row, down 1.22 percent at $76.96. Brent also declined 0.42 percent to $81.52.