Stock market today: Key things to know before the opening bell of April 1

Indian benchmark indices closed the last week of FY25 in green despite facing selling pressure at higher levels. The NIFTY50 and Sensex closed 0.6% and 0.72% higher for the week. The outlook for the coming week remains clouded with concerns over tariffs, a cautious outlook for the upcoming earnings season, and RBI’s monetary policy decision.

In a holiday-shortened week, markets are expected to open higher on Tuesday with a cautious outlook. The GIFT NIFTY futures traded 90 points higher at 23,458, taking cues from positive global markets. Gold prices touched a new record high of $3,139 per ounce on Tuesday morning as fear gripped investors who piled on to safe havens. The dollar index continued to hover around 104 levels.

US markets

The US markets closed in green after heightened volatility gripped the markets. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 closed in green with 1% and 0.4% gains, while NASDAQ closed in red with little losses. From April 2, the 25% auto tariffs would come into place, and the reciprocal tariffs announcements to be made.

Asian markets

The Asian markets traded in green across the board on Tuesday morning, taking cues from Wall Street gains. The Japanese, Chinese and Korean indices traded with gains of up to 0.6%. The Chinese manufacturing activity improved as the PMI improved to 51.2 as compared to 50.8 also surpassing market expectations of 51.1. This marked the highest reading since last November as the Chinese central bank and government bolstered the economic prospects of the country with increased liquidity and loose restrictions.

Crude Oil

The crude oil prices jumped 3.4% on Monday after Trump signalled of imposing 25% to 50% tariffs on buyers of Russian oil if he felt like Russia is obstructing is efforts to end the ukrain war. WTI crude oil prices surged past $71 per barrel, and Brent crude oil prices hovered near $75 per barrel.

FII and DII data

The FIIs snapped their six-day buying streak on Friday as they sold equities worth ₹4,352 crore. On the flip side, the DIIs bought equities worth ₹7,530 crore.