Indian shares are expected to open higher on Thursday, with GIFT Nifty trading at 24,230 around 7:50 am, up 140 points, or 0.58 percent, signaling a strong start for the Sensex and Nifty after six sessions of continued losses. The Nifty 50 index closed at 24,078.3 on Wednesday, marking the end of its longest run of declines in 11 months with seven consecutive sessions of losses totaling 2.1%. As per Moneycontrol, the positive indication comes after Indian equities remained under pressure on Wednesday amid elevated crude oil prices, higher global bond yields and persistent global uncertainty. The Sensex fell 325.78 points, or 0.42 percent, to 76,909.68, while the Nifty declined 76.60 points, or 0.32 percent, to 24,078.30. However, elevated crude oil prices and persistent Middle East tensions were seen limiting risk appetite, with Brent crude futures for October delivery edging 0.3 percent higher to $91.87 a barrel as investors assess the outlook for the U.S.-Iran war and shipping security through the Strait of Hormuz.
Asian stock markets rallied on Thursday, recovering from two sessions of losses as MSCI's Asia-Pacific equities index climbed 1.6 percent, with South Korea's Kospi surging 5.8 percent as technology stocks rebounded sharply following their recent selloff. According to Moneycontrol, Japan's Topix rose 1.1 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.2 percent and the Shanghai Composite advanced 0.7 percent. The improvement in sentiment came as US plans to buy back longer-dated Treasuries helped ease borrowing costs, with the dollar steadying after falling to a three-month low. US equity futures also pointed to a mildly positive start, with S&P 500 futures gaining 0.2 percent, as US equities ended modestly higher on Wednesday with the S&P 500 gaining 0.21 percent to 7,707.98, snapping a three-session losing streak. Asian stock markets jumped over 2% following the Treasury Department's announcement, with U.S. equities also gaining overnight.
The gains were supported by a recovery in US Treasury markets, where the US Treasury announced it would double the size of its buyback operations for longer-dated government debt as it sought to stanch an upward march in yields that sent the 30-year Treasury yield to its highest level since 2007 earlier this week. As reported by Moneycontrol, the 10-year Treasury yield fell 5 basis points to 4.65%, while the 30-year yield dropped 9 basis points to 5.19% after touching its highest level since 2007 earlier in the week. The move eased investor nerves over rising borrowing costs, sending the dollar lower and supporting stocks. However, higher Treasury yields make India and other emerging markets relatively less attractive for foreign investors, who have already sold a record $24.7 billion worth of Indian shares so far in 2026.
US Federal Reserve policymakers believe that interest rate hikes will be necessary if inflation does not decline, according to minutes from their July meeting released on Wednesday. The FOMC voted 9-3 to hold rates at 3.50%–3.75%, but three regional presidents dissented in favour of a 25-basis-point hike, with many other officials indicating that further tightening could still be needed if inflation does not cool further. As per Moneycontrol, investors also digested a hawkish set of minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting, with the minutes showing that three policymakers had favoured a 25-basis-point rate hike, while several officials said further tightening could be required if inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target. Markets are now pricing in roughly a one-in-three chance of a September hike, even as July's weak jobs report and softer CPI and PPI prints have strengthened the case for the Fed to remain patient.
India's infrastructure output showed strong momentum with growth accelerating to 5% year-on-year in June 2026, marking the fastest growth since January. According to Business Standard, growth was led by iron ore output, which rose 43.9%, while cement, steel and electricity production also increased. However, refinery product output declined 4.7% amid supply disruptions in Persian Gulf energy exports. The data are based on a revised series with 2022-23 as the base year, which expands the core infrastructure basket to nine industries from eight with the inclusion of iron ore. Additionally, the 4th India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable will be held in Singapore on August 20, 2026, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State Jitin Prasada representing India. The meeting will review ongoing initiatives and explore ways to deepen cooperation in advanced manufacturing, connectivity, digitalisation, healthcare, skills development and sustainability.
