Nifty almost 50 points away from all-time high, led by gains in heavyweights

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region traded higher on Monday, tracking last week’s gains on Wall Street after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell assured traders of monetary easing starting next month.

The Kospi was up 3.12 points, or 0.12%, at 2,704.81, and the S&P ASX 200 was up 34.10 points, or 0.42%, at 8,058.00 at 6:15 a.m.

Stocks rose and bond yields fell after Powell indicated the central bank would likely cut interest rates in September. He also hinted there could be more rate cuts in the future, according to Bloomberg.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed 1.15% and 1.47% higher, respectively, on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.14% higher.

Brent oil traded 0.55% higher at $79.57 a barrel. Gold was 0.09% higher at $2,514.75 an ounce.

The GIFT Nifty was trading 0.04% or 11.00 points lower at 24,907.00 at 06:32 am.

On Friday, the NSE Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex ended the quiet session with no significant changes, snapping a two-week winning streak as market participants eagerly awaited Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole meeting in Wyoming.

The Nifty 50 closed 11.65 points or 0.05% higher at 24,823.15 and the Sensex closed 33.02 points or 0.04% higher at 81,086.21.

Foreign investors remained net buyers of Indian securities for the second consecutive day on Friday. Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth Rs 1,944.5 million, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed. Domestic institutional investors remained net buyers in the 15th session too, buying shares worth Rs 2,896 million, NSE data showed.

The rupee gained 5 paise against the US dollar to close at 83.90.