The Indian stock market is expected to open higher on Thursday following a rally in global peers.

Asian shares gained in the morning trade, while US stock ended higher overnight on renewed hopes that central banks will pause their interest rate hikes after weak economic data.

On the domestic front, the Indian equity market rallied on Wednesday with the benchmark Nifty closing above 19,400 level.

However, investors look forward to central bankers’ gathering at Jackson Hole on Friday for further cues on monetary policies.

“Global markets have restrained from making significant moves as they await the outcome of the central bankers’ gathering at Jackson Hole scheduled for Friday. With the earnings season nearing its end, the heightened possibility of another rate hike in the US, along with the resultant increase in bond yields, are expected to keep the global market’s volatility high,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

On the domestic front, sentiments remained positive, backed by strong demand in the banking sector, though IT and pharma limited the gains, Nair added.

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Asian Markets

Asian markets traded higher on Thursday following overnight gains on Wall Street amid rally in tech stocks.

Investors in the region await central bank rate decisions from South Korea and Indonesia, which are widely expected to hold their benchmark policy rates unchanged.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.44%, while the Topix rose 0.13%. South Korea’s Kospi rallied 1.04% and the Kosdaq surged 1.55%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were trading higher at 17,973 as compared with the HSI’s close of 17,845.92.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.42% higher.

Gift Nifty was trading higher at 19,518 level, as compared to Nifty futures’ previous close of 19,432, indicating a positive start for the Indian benchmark indices.

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Wall Street

US stock indices ended higher on Wednesday, led by a rally in tech shares after Nvidia shares jumped on hopes of stronger quarterly results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 184.15 points, or 0.54%, to 34,472.98, while the S&P 500 gained 48.46 points, or 1.10%, to 4,436.01. The Nasdaq Composite added 215.16 points, or 1.59%, higher at 13,721.03.

Market sentiment was boosted as the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note eased from near 16-year highs after weak business activity data from the US and the euro zone.

Among stocks, shares of drugmaker Gilead Sciences rose 0.9% and Merck & Co advanced 3.8% after Swiss rival Roche inadvertently published positive lung cancer drug trial data.

Nvidia share price jumped nearly 10% after the bell to a record high of $516 as the company reported better than expected second-quarter results and upbeat guidance.

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Nvidia shares rally as results crushes estimates

US chip giant Nvidia reported far better than expected earnings for the second quarter and its revenue forecast for the current quarter also crushed analysts’ estimates as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom continues. The company also announced that it would buy back $25 billion in stock.

The Silicon Valley-based Nvidia’s revenue doubled year-on-year to $13.5 billion in the latest completed quarter, compared with estimates of $11.22 billion. Revenue from the data center business rose 141% to $10.32 billion, while that in its gaming business rose 22% to $2.49 billion for the quarter, Reuters reported.

Nvidia’s net profit soared 843% YoY to $6.2 billion. Nvidia said revenue in the current quarter would ramp up further to $16 billion.

Nvidia share price rallied nearly 10% after the bell to a record high of $516, lifting its stock market value by about $110 billion to $1.27 trillion. This year so far, Nvidia share price has more than tripled.

US PMI Data

Business activity in the US private sector expanded at a softening pace in early August as the S&P Global Composite PMI fell to 50.4 from 52 in July.

S&P Global Manufacturing PMI declined to 47 from 49 while the Services PMI fell to 51 from 52.4.

China braces for $38 billion in losses in troubled trust sector

China’s $2.9 trillion trust sector is facing another round of losses that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts say may swell to the equivalent of $38 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Private wealth giant Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co. and its affiliate Zhongrong International Trust Co. have halted payments on scores of high-yield investment products since last month, the report added.

Bonds rally, yields fall

Bond prices rose around the world, while yields dropped as weak economic data from the US and Europe bolstered bets that major central banks will pause their interest-rate hikes to prevent a recession.

US 10-year Treasury yields eased to 4.191%, after touching a 16-year high of 4.36% a session earlier. Yields on two-year treasury, which are more sensitive to imminent Federal Reserve moves, fell below 5%.

(With inputs from agencies)