Here's a news article about the Indian stock market:

Indian Stock Market Reacts to Global Cues: Gift Nifty, Nikkei's Record, and Gold Prices in Focus

The Indian stock market is expected to react to a series of overnight global cues, including movements in the GIFT Nifty, the Japanese Nikkei's surge to record highs, and fluctuations in gold prices. Investors are also closely monitoring developments related to international trade, Q2 earnings, and macroeconomic data releases.

Global Market Overview

Asian markets have shown mixed trading activity as investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision. Japan's Nikkei 225 index has been a standout performer, jumping over 1% to surpass 51,000 for the first time, reaching a new record high. This surge is attributed to renewed optimism surrounding U.S.-Japan trade relations, particularly after the signing of a new rare earths framework between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

In contrast, other Asian indices have shown less robust performance. On October 28, 2025, the Nikkei 225 and KOSPI traded in the red, declining by 0.15% and 1.15% respectively. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng experienced gains, rising by 0.21% and 0.22% respectively.

U.S. markets ended last week on a strong note, with all three major Wall Street indices closing at record highs. This positive sentiment was fueled by cooler-than-expected inflation data and strong corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all posted significant gains.

GIFT Nifty

The GIFT Nifty, formerly known as SGX Nifty, is a derivative contract linked to India's Nifty 50 index. It is used by hedge funds and institutional investors to hedge their exposure to the Indian stock market.

On October 6, 2025, GIFT Nifty was trading around the 24,964 level, a discount of nearly 42 points from the Nifty futures' previous close, indicating a potentially negative start for Indian stock market indices. However, more recently, GIFT Nifty September 2025 futures were trading with a gain of 42.50 points, suggesting a potentially positive opening for the Nifty 50. On October 28, the GIFT Nifty opened marginally lower and continued to trade lower, hovering close to the 26,050 levels.

Gold Prices

Gold prices have been experiencing declines recently. On October 28, 2025, the price of 24 karat gold was around Rs 12,327 per gram, 22 karat gold was around Rs 11,299 per gram, and 18 karat gold was around Rs 9,245 per gram.

Domestic Market Performance

On Friday, the Indian stock market ended higher, led by buying in metal and banking stocks. The Sensex rallied 223.86 points, or 0.28%, to close at 81,207.17, while the Nifty 50 settled 57.95 points, or 0.23%, higher at 24,894.25. However, on a separate Friday, the Indian stock market slipped lower as investors booked profits, halting its six-day winning streak. The Sensex slumped by 344.52 points (0.41%) to close at 84,211.88, and the Nifty 50 moved down by 96.25 points (0.37%) to settle at 25,795.15.

Expert Outlook

Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd., suggested that positive momentum is likely to continue in the market, supported by accommodative monetary policy, a supportive monsoon season, and festive-led demand recovery.

Key Factors to Watch

Investors will be closely monitoring several key factors in the coming days, including:

• US Federal Reserve meeting
• Updates on US-China and India-US trade deals
• Q2 earnings
• Trends in the flow of foreign funds
• Major domestic and global macroeconomic data releases
• Developments over US government shutdown
• Updates in the Israel-Hamas war