Indian Shares Set To Follow Global Peers Lower

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may follow global peers lower on Friday as concerns grew over stretched valuations and AI investment profitability.

Additionally, a mixed jobs report injected yet more uncertainty into whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its December meeting.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around half a percent each on Thursday to close near their record highs, with underlying sentiment buoyed by recovering foreign fund inflows and Nvidia's blowout earnings.

The rupee closed slightly weaker at 88.70 against the U.S. dollar, with modest portfolio inflows helping limit the currency's decline.

Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the central bank does not target any level for the rupee, and the recent depreciation against the greenback is primarily due to trade uncertainties following the imposition of tariffs by the Trump administration.

A "good trade deal" with the U.S., once struck, would reduce pressure on India's current account and the rupee's exchange rate, he added.

Foreign investors net bought shares worth Rs 284 crore on Thursday while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs 824 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were sharply lower this morning and gold was set for a small weekly decline while the dollar was on track for a weekly gain. Oil prices fell amid easing geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

U.S. stocks gave up early gains to end sharply lower overnight as weak jobs data overshadowed post-Nvidia earnings euphoria.

The delayed jobs report showed the labor market added 119,000 jobs in September after a revised dip of 4,000 jobs in August.

Economists had expected employment to rise by 50,000 jobs compared to the addition of 22,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The unemployment rate ticked up from 4.3 percent to 4.4 percent, its highest level since 2021, heightening uncertainty surrounding the strength of the U.S. economy and the rate outlook.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 plunged 2.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively to hit over two-month lows while the Dow dipped 0.8 percent to a new one-month low.

European stocks snapped a five-day losing streak on Thursday as upbeat Q3 earnings and fourth-quarter guidance from Nvidia helped ease concerns about tech valuations.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.4 percent. The German DAX gained half a percent, France's CAC 40 added 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up by 0.2 percent.