US markets fall ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s testimony; GIFT Nifty marginally up

Crude continues its downward spiral for a second day.

The US markets slid into red on March 5 ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jeremy Powell’s testimony before the US Congress coming later this week. As investors faced uncertainty over interest rates and awaited key economic data, the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.48 percent lower at 15,968.22 at 21:00 IST. The S&P 500 also declined 0.71 percent to 5,094.51 while the Dow fell nearly half a percent to 38,821.10. The GIFT Nifty, however, traded positive, up 0.23 percent at 22,485.50.

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The European markets traded mixed with the FTSE rising 0.08 percent higher at 7,646.64 and the DAX marginally up 0.06 percent at 17,727.62. The CAC, however, declined slightly to 7,947.28.

Earlier in the day, the Asian indices faced declines with the Nikkei ending flat-to-negative at 40,097.63 and the Hang Seng leading the losses by declining 2.61 percent to 16,162.64.

The Nifty halted its 4-day bullish streak, ending 0.22 percent lower at 22,356.30. The Sensex was also dragged 0.26 percent lower to 73,677.13 owing to weak global cues and selling pressures in the market.

The DIIs net purchased Rs 1,834.61 crore and the FIIs/ FPIs net purchased Rs 574.28 crores.

Crude once again continued its trade in the red as it was down 0.44 percent at $78.39 per barrel. Brent declined nearly half a percent to $82.39.