GIFT Nifty indicates possible red opening; Powell's speech at Jackson Hole remains in focus

GIFT Nifty:

GIFT Nifty August 2025 futures were currently trading 54.00 points (or 0.22%) lower, suggesting that the Nifty 50 could open with some cuts today.

Institutional Flows:

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,246.51 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,546.27 crore in the Indian equity market on 21 August 2025, provisional data showed.

According to public data, FPIs have sold shares worth Rs 24,128.50 crore in the cash market during August 2025. This follows their cash sales of shares worth Rs 47,666.68 crore in July 2025.

Global Markets:

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Friday as investors await U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powells speech at the central banks annual economic symposium, which could offer clues into the path of interest rates.

Japans core inflation rate cooled to 3.1% in July, declining from 3.3% the month before as rice inflation continued to ease.

Overnight stateside, stocks fell broadly Thursday, with the S&P 500 sliding for the fifth day in a row.

The broad-market index shed 0.4% and closed at 6,370.17, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.34% and settled at 21,100.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152.81 points, or 0.34%, ending at 44,785.50.

U.S. business activity picked up pace in August, led by a resurgent manufacturing sector that saw the strongest growth in orders in 18 months, a purchasing managers survey showed on Thursday. S&P Global's flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, increased to 55.4 this month, the highest level since December, from 55.1 in July. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the private sector.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits rose by the most in about three months last week and the number of people collecting unemployment relief in the prior week climbed to the highest level in nearly four years, signaling recent labor market softness continued into August.

The data may also add to the argument for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates at its next meeting in about four weeks.

Domestic Market:

Domestic equities eked out modest gains on Thursday, stretching their winning streak to a sixth straight session. Optimism over a potential cut in Goods and Services Tax (GST) supported sentiment, though caution lingered ahead of the US Federal Reserves annual symposium for cues on interest rate policy.

The Nifty closed above the 25,050 mark, lifted by strength in pharma and healthcare counters, while FMCG, PSU bank and auto stocks dragged on the upside.

The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 142.87 points or 0.17% to 82,000.71. The Nifty 50 index added 0.13 points or 0.33.20% to 25,083.75. In the six trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty have jumped 2.19% and 2.43%, respectively.

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