Wall Street ended sharply higher in the overnight session after three days of selling on upbeat labour market data. All three major US stock indexes notched solid gains, with the S&P 500 enjoying its biggest percentage gain in over a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.29%, the S&P 500 gained 1.22% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.72%. Asian markets tracked the robust sentiment in US markets and climbed, with investors migrating to value from growth companies as signs of a strengthening labour market tempered inflation worries. Japan’s Topix Index rose 1.4%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.8% and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.8%.
Indian equity markets eyed a negative start to Wednesday s session amid a weak global market setup but a drop in active Covid cases for the third day in a row could lend some support to the sentiment on the Street. Furthermore, stock-specific action is likely following the latest MSCI rejig while high volatility cannot be ruled out ahead of the weekly F&O expiry. At 7.40 am, SGX Nifty was ruling 19 points down at 14,830. The stock markets will remain shut for trading on May 13 on account of Id-Ul-Fitr. In the global markets, US stocks closed lower in overnight session as rising commodity prices and labor shortages fed fears that despite reassurances from the US Federal Reserve, near-term price spikes could translate into longer-term inflation. While all three indexes pared their losses from session lows, the sell-off was fairly evenly dispersed across the sectors.
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