Indices drift higher amid global cues
In addition to developments surrounding the US-Iran conflict and movements in crude oil and gold prices, market participants will closely track the upcoming quarterly earnings announcements of recently listed companies over the next few weeks. Investors are likely to assess these results for insights into operating performance, earnings visibility and demand trends.
IT and realty shares advanced while pharma, consumer durables and auto shares witnessed selling pressure.
At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 422.63 points or 0.55% to 76,575.49. The Nifty 50 index jumped 33.10 points or 0.14% to 23,907.25.
In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.10% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index added 0.39%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,384 shares rose and 903 shares fell. A total of 205 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,345.87 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,977.46 crore in the Indian equity market on 3 September 2026, according to provisional data.
Economy:
SEBI said it will review the methodology for determining settlement prices of derivative contracts on expiry following feedback received after the introduction of the Closing Auction Session (CAS) in the equity cash segment from 3 August 2026. The regulator said the CAS-determined closing price also serves as the basis for settling derivative contracts on expiry. After monitoring the mechanism during its first month and receiving feedback from stock exchanges, brokers, traders, mutual funds, FPIs and other market participants, SEBI said it may propose changes to the settlement-price methodology and plans to issue a consultation paper in about a week.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.03% to 6.967 compared with the previous session close of 6.965.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee was higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 94.4750 compared with its close of 94.5100 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2026 settlement fell 0.54% to Rs 1,54,930.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.15% to 99.06.
The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.15% to 4.769.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for the November 2026 settlement advanced 41 cents or 0.43% to $95.93 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) rose 0.42%. The company said that electricity traded volume rose 20.2% YoY to 13.94 BU in August 2026, while real-time electricity market volume increased 10.6% YoY to 5.6 BU and day-ahead contingency and term-ahead market traded volume jumped 111.3% YoY to 1,765 MU.
Power Grid Corporation of India rose 0.38%. The company has received a Letter of Intent (LoI) worth Rs 1,152.49 crore to establish an inter-state transmission system for integration of power from renewable energy projects in Lakadia REZ, Gujarat ? Phase II (7,500 MW), on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis. The project comprises setting up a new 765/400 kV Lakadia-II substation in Gujarat.
Max Healthcare Institute shed 0.20%. The company's board has approved an additional investment of around Rs 87.87 crore in Kalinga Hospital, a subsidiary, through subscription to equity shares on a rights basis.
Global Markets:
Asian stocks traded mostly higher on Friday, 4 September 2026, following a strong rally on Wall Street as US Treasury yields eased and expectations of a September Federal Reserve rate hike moderated.
Chinese artificial intelligence stocks rose on Friday after OpenAI launched its latest model, GPT-6 Astra, which investors viewed as a positive read-through for the country's AI developers. MiniMax gained 6.5%, Baidu 4.6%, Kuaishou Technology 4.2%, JD.com 4.1% and Xiaomi 3.9%, while Z.AI edged higher. The gains extended a recent rally in Chinese AI stocks as investors assessed the commercial potential of faster advances in large language models and more autonomous AI-agent services.
US equities rallied sharply on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 1.18% to 53,686.11, the S&P 500 gaining 1.06% to 7,747.71 and the Nasdaq Composite advancing 1.40% to 26,584.06. Technology stocks led the gains, with Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Nvidia among the major advancers. Snowflake surged 16.6% after its results, lifting the broader software segment.
Market sentiment improved after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he would support keeping the federal funds rate unchanged if upcoming data confirms that inflationary pressures are easing. Following his comments, the probability of a September rate hike fell to around 50% from 63.2% on Wednesday, according to CME FedWatch. The US 10-year Treasury yield also retreated for a second consecutive session.
Attention has now shifted to the US nonfarm payrolls report due later on Friday. The data could influence expectations for the Fed's September 15-16 policy meeting.
Oil prices remain a key risk for global markets. Brent crude was around $95.7 a barrel on Friday and is headed for a weekly gain of about 7%, as continued US-Iran tensions raised concerns over disruptions to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
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