Markets at close: Indian equity benchmarks ended Wednesday’s session on a positive note. The Sensex closed at 83,734.25, gaining 283.29 points or 0.34%, while the Nifty settled at 25,819.35, up 93.95 points or 0.37%.
Markets at 3 PM: Indian indices turned green in the latter half of the trade. The Nifty 50 rose 100 points or 0.39% higher to trade at 25,823, while the BSE Sensex was up 290 points 0.35% at 83,743.
Markets today at open: The domestic equity markets opened Wednesday’s trade flat. The Nifty 50 was up mere 6 points or 0.02% to open at 25,731, while the BSE Sensex opened flat at 83,452.
Markets ahead of opening: The global markets were trading on a higher note. The GIFT Nifty rose 79 points or 0.31% to trade at 25,788. Here are domestic as well as other key global cues to watch before the market opens that include Gold, Silver, crude oil prices, FII and DII data, business groups that most affect, sectoral performance, etc.
Earlier on Thursday, the NSE Nifty 50 closed the session 43 points or 0.17% higher at 25,725, while the BSE Sensex rose 174 points or 0.21% to close at 83,450.
Key global and domestic cues to know on February 18, 2025
Asian Markets
Among the Asian markets, only the Japanese indices were trading. Nikkei 225 rose 425 points or 0.75% to trade at 56,991.70 in early trade hours. Other Asian markets like Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea, remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
US markets
The US markets closed Tuesday’s trading session on a marginally higher note, with gains in financial stocks offsetting continued weakness in software counters. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 6,843.22, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.14% to 22,578.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.07% to 49,533.19.
Gold rate today
The rate for 24-carat gold today is Rs 1,51,860 per 10 grams. The price of gold has fallen by 2% from yesterday. The 24 kt gold rate today in Delhi is Rs 1,51,600 per 10 grams. The 18-carat gold price today in India is Rs 1,13,895. The 24-carat gold rate in Dubai today is Rs 1,49,590. On the MCX, the precious metal for the April delivery was trading at a price of Rs 1.51 lakh per 10 grams, down 1.91%.
Silver rate today
In India, the silver rate rose 0.62% to Rs 2.30 lakh per kilogram. On COMEX, Silver prices fell almost 0.92% on Wednesday to trade at $72.865. Silver had surged to record highs in January amid geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and concerns over the Federal Reserve’s independence, with heavy speculative buying—especially from China—pushing prices higher.
FII, DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FII) were the net buyers of shares worth Rs 995.21 crore. On the other hand, the Domestic institutional investors (DII) were the net buyers of shares worth Rs 187.04 crore on February 17, 2025, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.
Crude oil
The crude oil prices traded on a lower note on Wednesday morning. WTI crude prices were trading at $62.22, fell 0.18%, while Brent crude prices were trading at $67.38, a decline of 0.05%.
US dollar
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar’s value against a basket of six foreign currencies, was trading 0.04% higher at 97.15. The index evaluates the strength or weakness of the US dollar in comparison to major currencies. The basket contains currencies such as the British Pound, Euro, Swedish Krona, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, etc. The rupee appreciated 0.02% to close at 90.68 to the dollar on February 17.
Top sectors in Tuesday’s trade
The Fertiliser sector’s stocks rose the most in Tuesday’s trade, rising 2.55% in the market capitalisation. Further, Tobacco stocks were followed by the Packaging sector stocks, which were further followed by the Aquaculture stocks. However, the Metals sector stocks fell the most, declining 2.23%.