US markets rise as high jobless claims fuel rate cut expectations, S&P 500 up 0.36%; GIFT Nifty trades higher

The US markets edged higher on May 9 as freshly released Weekly Jobless Claims data showed highest levels since August. This raised expectations for rate cuts by the Federal Reserve at some point later this year.

At 8:30pm IST, the S&P 500 recovered from previous day’s losses and was up 0.36 percent at 5,206.84. The Nasdaq also traded 0.26 percent higher at 16,345.30. The Dow continued its winning streak for a seventh day in a row, up 0.49 percent at 39,248.87.

The data revealed that the initial claims for unemployment benefits increased to a seasonally adjusted 231,000 for the week ended May 4 as against the Reuter’s poll forecast of 215,000 claims. This marks the highest numbers since the end of last August.

The GIFT Nifty also traded positive, up 0.27 percent at 22,148.50 after Indian indices tumbled during the day.

The Indian indices fell on Thursday owing to huge foreign fund outflows. The Nifty was down 1.55 percent at 21,957.50, thus dragging below the 22000 mark. Sensex also ended 1.45 percent lower at 72,404.17.

DIIs net purchased Rs 5,642.53 crore while the FIIs/FPIs continued to witness massive selling, with net sales at Rs 6,994.86 crore.

European markets witnessed a rally, led by the FTSE which traded 0.43 percent higher at 8,389.90. During intraday, the index reached a new all- time high of 8,396.25 after the Bank of England’s announcement to hold interest rates steady. This came in line with the market expectations. The DAX and CAC also reacted positively. DAX was up 1.06 percent at 18,693.99 and the CAC traded 0.68 percent higher at 8,186.72.

Earlier during the day, the Asian markets traded mixed. The Nikkei was down 0.34 percent at 38,073.98 while the Hang Seng traded 1.22 percent higher at 18,537.81.

Crude rose on Thursday, up 0.44 percent at $79.34. Brent also traded 0.37 percent higher at $83.89.