US Stock Market Bounces Back, S&P 500 Surges Above 5200; GIFT Nifty Shows Gain

US markets rose on April 3, shrugging off the negative start of the new quarter as Jerome Powell signalled that the broader trajectory for rate cuts is still on track.

At 9:30 pm IST, the S&P 500 traded 0.24 percent higher at 5,218.58 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.32 percent at 16,290.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded flat-to-positive at 39,191.11.

US Federal Reserve’s chairman Jerome Powell addressed a gathering at Stanford’s 2024 Business, Government and Society forum on Wednesday. Bloomberg quoted him stating that ‘policymakers will wait for clearer signs of lower inflation before cutting interest rates, even though a recent bump in prices didn’t alter their broader trajectory’. Earlier during the week, the stronger-than-expected PMI data had pulled the markets into red and the bond markets had surged. This had resulted in a weak investor sentiment, as worries of Federal Reserve’s rate cuts not coming in soon, troubled traders.

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The GIFT Nifty also traded 0.25 percent higher at 22,591.00.

European markets edged higher after receiving positive news on inflation data. The euro zone inflation fell more than expected, causing FTSE to trade flat-to-positive at 7,937.44. The DAX was up 0.46 percent higher at 18,367.72 and CAC traded 0.29 percent higher at 8,153.23. The Euro zone prices eased to 2.4 percent in March, which was lower than the Reuter’s poll prediction of 2.6 percent.

Earlier during the day, Nikkei was dragged down by the decline in the Fast Retailing stock, a major company of the Japanese market which also owns the Uniqlo chain. The index ended 0.98 percent lower at 39,451.85 and Fast Retailing was down 3.34 percent at 45,410. The Hang Seng index was pulled down by the earthquake that hit Taiwan earlier today, causing tech supply chain worries among investors. The index was down 1.23 percent at 16,725.10.

The Indian indices experienced volatility on Wednesday and ended flat. The Nifty was marginally down 0.08 percent at 22,434.65 and the Sensex traded 0.03 percent lower at 73,876.82.

DIIs net purchased Rs 1,102.41 crores while the FIIs/FPIs continued to sell for a third day in a row, having sold Rs 2,213.56 on April 3.

Crude continued trading positive for a third day and was up 0.74 percent at 85.78. Brent was also up 0.83 percent at $89.66 per barrell.