Israel-Gaza Ceasefire, TCS Q2 Results, Crude Oil Prices, Among Other Market Cues To Watch In Today's Trade

Several global and domestic cues are likely to impact trading on October 10, including the Israel-Gaza ceasefire, US Preident Donald Trump’s claim on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, US weekly jobs data, along with cues from US and Asian markets.

In the previous session, the domestic benchmark indices continued with their recovery rally after a brief pause on October 8. In the previous session, the BSE Sensex closed at 82,172.10, up by 398.44 points, or 0.49 per cent. Likewise, the NSE Nifty 50 finished at 25,181.80, up by 135.65 points, or 0.54 per cent.

Key Market Cues To Watch Today

Israel-Gaza Ceasefire

Global sentiment is cautiously positive ahead of the opening bell after Israel and Hamas agreed to first-phase ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal. The agreement involves Israel’s partial withdrawal, the release of remaining hostages by Hamas, and the freeing of several hundred Palestinian prisoners by Israel.

The deal, which was negotiated under US mediation and framed as part of a peace plan advanced by the Trump administration, has eased geopolitical tensions for now. However, still there is an uncertainty around how and whether Hamas will disarm, and what governance structure will oversee Gaza post-truce.

Russia-Ukraine War

Shortly after the announcement of Israel-Gaza ceasefire, US President Donald Trump said Washington and its NATO allies are “stepping up the pressure” to end the war in Ukraine.

When asked whether he would increase efforts for a deal between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said,  “We are stepping it up together. We are all stepping it up. NATO has been great.”

Trump was speaking alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb at the Oval Office. Stubb said he was confident that Trump would be able to help strike a deal on Ukraine after brokering the Israel-Gaza peace deal. "I think this one will be the next big one," Stubb told reporters.

Trump had earlier hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August but failed to achieve a breakthrough. Since then, Russia's attacks on Ukraine have only intensified.

US Weekly Jobless Claims

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week, economists estimated, attributing this increase to early layoffs of contractors due to the US government shutdown.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits went up to 2,35,000 for the week ended October 4, up from 2,24,000 the week before, according to JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. Citigroup estimated last week’s claims at 2,34,000.

Official economic data collection and release has been paused as the government shutdown entered its tenth day.

US Stock Market Closes Lower

Overnight, US stock market's benchmark indices closed lower amid the ongoing US government shutdown.

The Dow Jones industrial Average fell 0.52 per cent, the S&P 500 slipped 0.28 per cent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed lower by 0.08 per cent.

The US government shutdown entered its ninth day with no sign of progress, leaving investors without key economic data.

Asian Stock Market Trades Lower

Asian markets largely traded lower in early trade today, tracking cues from the US stock market.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell over 1 per cent and the broader TOPIX slipped 1.7 per cent after stronger-than-expected September producer price inflation raised rate hike concerns by the Bank of Japan (BOJ). Japan’s wholesale prices rose 2.7 per cent year-on-year in September, matching the pace seen in August.

China’s CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite traded lower by around 0.5 per cent and 0.2 per cent, while the Hong Kong-based Hang Seng fell around 1 per cent. South Korea’s KOSPI, however, traded in green, gaining about 1.5 per cent, as it tried to catch up after a week-long trade.

TCS Q2 Results

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported an 8.40 per cent rise in consolidated profit for Q2 at Rs 12,904 crore, up from Rs 11,909 crore a year ago. Revenue grew 2.4 per cent to Rs 65,799 crore, while EBIT rose 7.1 per cent to Rs 16,565 crore, pushing the EBIT margin up to 25.17 per cent from 24.06 per cent.

The IT bellwether's total contract value (TCV) stood at $10 billion, as of the end of Q2. TCS also acquired a 100 per cent stake in ListEngage, a leading Salesforce Summit partner, and announced plans to build a world-class AI infrastructure, including a 1 GW capacity AI datacenter in India.

Crude Oil Price Today

Crude oil prices continued to slip for the second straight day on easing tensions in the West Asia after the Israel-Gaza peace deal was announced.

Around 9:00 AM, Brent Crude Oil futures traded 0.31 per cent lower at $65.02 per barrel. WTI Crude Oil futures was down 0.18 per cent to trade at $61.40 per barrel.

Gold Price Today

Gold prices inched up in early trade today, extending gains from its previous sessions.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), Gold futures traded 0.23 per cent higher at Rs 1,20,767 per 10 grams. In international market, COMEX Gold futures, too, traded 0.22 per cent higher at $3,981.20 per ounce.

USD vs INR

The US dollar (USD) traded at 88.70 against the Indian rupee (INR), down 0.13 or 0.15 per cent, as of the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index futures, which measures the value of the greenback against six major currencies, traded 0.22 per cent lower at 99.06.