Sensex, Nifty Today: GIFT Nifty signals steady start; Kospi jumps 14%, Crude below $90

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 JULY 2026 —

Indian markets rose after Thursday’s Fed-led rebound as crude oil futures slipped below $90 a barrel, giving Malaysian palm oil a firmer floor before the long weekend.

The Nifty 50 closed 0.28% higher at 24,317 on Thursday, while the BSE Sensex gained 0.35% to 77,928.15 after the US Federal Reserve left rates unchanged and investors priced in a September cut to fight sticky inflation.

Crude oil futures fell 1.15% to $82.63 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate and 0.45% to $88.63 for Brent, breaching the $90 psychological level for the first time in two sessions. Singapore-traded palm oil futures for the third contract month dipped 0.2% to RM4,680 a tonne, paring an earlier loss of 1.1% as refiners returned from the Eid break and freight markets stayed tight.

Bursa Malaysia was closed on Friday for the Eid ul-Adha public holiday, leaving domestic traders to monitor Singapore screens until Sunday evening.

South Korea’s Kospi surged 14% at the open after chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics triggered circuit-breakers on blockbuster earnings, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 5.1% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.64%. US stock futures pointed to a higher Wall Street open as the Nasdaq 100 led gains.

Foreign institutional investors bought Rs 3,623.51 crore of Indian equities on July 30, provisional NSE data show, while domestic institutions sold Rs 1,864.03 crore. The Indian rupee firmed 0.03% to 95.68 per dollar.

Malaysian planters have limited room to lift prices until next week, traders said, because domestic mills are running at near-full capacity after Eid downtime and port congestion in Peninsular Malaysia has kept export vessels waiting. One Kuala Lumpur-based broker said mills were quoting RM4,750 a tonne for 5% FFA crude palm oil for August loading, but offers are largely indicative until the market re-opens.

Elsewhere in Asia, gold for August on COMEX slipped 0.19% to $4,152.6 an ounce, while silver was up 0.12% at $59.09. The US Dollar Index rose 0.16% to 100.15.

Analysts said the fall in crude below $90 would help Malaysian palm oil by lowering production costs for fertiliser and transport, but would not immediately translate into higher prices because of ample supply in Indonesia and subdued Chinese buying ahead of the summer maintenance season in refineries. A Singapore-based trader said the next key level for palm oil is RM4,800 a tonne on the August contract, a mark last seen in mid-June.

Indian software stocks lagged the broader market after two days of gains, with Infosys, TCS and Wipro each down more than 2% as investors booked profits. The Nifty IT index dropped nearly 2% in early trade.

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