By Malvika Gurung
Investing.com -- The Nifty 50 Futures listed on the Singapore-based Exchange SGX, an early indicator for Nifty50, traded 0.09% or 15 points lower at 8:34 am on Thursday, indicating a muted opening on Dalal Street.
However, the Dow Jones Futures and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.45% each.
Major indices in the US fell sharply and pared gains on Wednesday, following an expected 25 basis point rate hike by the Fed and Chair Jerome Powell’s subsequent Q&A session and remarks, reinstating the central bank’s commitment to keeping a check on inflation while vowing to use all the tools for providing aid to the recently-battered banking sector.
FOMC members said in a statement hinted that the central bank could extend some aid to the financial sector turmoil by pausing future interest rate hikes.
Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.6%, Dow Jones slumped 1.65% and S&P 500 fell 1.63%.
Asian markets traded mixed on Thursday after rising in early trade following the Fed’s hints of a possible pause in future rate hikes given the US banking turmoil yet Powell stuck to rein the sticky inflation.
At 8:39 am, South Korea’s KOSPI 50 advanced 0.19%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.24%, China’s Shanghai Composite traded flat, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.7%, and Australia's ASX 200 declined 0.52%.
Oil prices declined on Thursday, tracking weak economic signals following Powell’s announcement, while OPEC+ is likely to keep the output unchanged in April despite the prices plummeting recently.
Brent crude fell 0.8% to $76.05/barrel and WTI Futures tanked 1% to $ 70.18 a barrel. Natural Gas Futures slid 0.5%.