New Delhi, 02 January (H.S.): Global market cues turned positive on Friday, signaling a strong start to the new year. Despite U.S. and European markets remaining closed in the previous session due to New Year’s Day, early indicators from futures and Asian bourses point to broad-based optimism and steady buying activity.

In the U.S., trading remained shut on the first day of 2026. However, Dow Jones Futures were seen trading higher today, rising 192.80 points, or 0.40%, to 48,256.09 points in early trade — indicating a firm opening tone for Wall Street once normal trading resumes.

In Asia, most markets opened on an upbeat note. Out of nine major Asian exchanges, seven were trading in positive territory. The Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Thailand remained closed for public holidays, leaving the Nikkei Index and SET Composite Index unchanged.

Back home, GIFT Nifty showed resilience, advancing 0.24% to 26,353 points. The Straits Times Index in Singapore gained 0.42%, reaching 4,665.65 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index recorded the strongest performance in the region, surging 591.46 points, or 2.31%, to trade at 26,222 points.

Similarly, South Korea’s KOSPI Index climbed 1.50% to 4,227.43 points. The Taiwan Weighted Index rose 318.84 points, or 1.10%, to 29,282.44 points. Meanwhile, the Jakarta Composite Index advanced 0.70% to 8,707.12 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.09% to 3,968.84 points.

This broad-based strength across Asian markets reflects investor optimism over global economic stability and expectations of sustained growth momentum as 2026 begins.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar