New Delhi, 20 August (H.S.):

Global markets are providing positive cues on Thursday, with US equities closing firmly in the previous session and Dow Jones futures trading marginally higher. European markets ended mixed in the previous session, while Asian markets are broadly witnessing buying interest today.

Pressure in the bond market eased after the US Treasury announced on Wednesday that it would buy back long-term debt. The move boosted investor sentiment in the US stock market. The S&P 500 recovered after three consecutive sessions of losses, closing 0.21 per cent higher at 7,707.98 points. Similarly, the Nasdaq gained 0.16 per cent to end the previous session at 26,331.09 points. Dow Jones futures were currently trading marginally higher by 0.03 per cent at 53,480.24 points.

European markets ended on a mixed note in the previous session. The FTSE index gained 0.14 per cent to close at 10,743.35 points. In contrast, the CAC index declined 0.09 per cent to end the session at 8,501.91 points. The DAX index also fell 0.14 per cent to close at 26,091.33 points.

Asian markets were largely witnessing buying interest on Thursday. Of the nine major Asian markets, seven indices were trading in positive territory, while two were in the red. The Straits Times Index declined 0.48 per cent to 5,666.79 points, while the Taiwan Weighted Index slipped 178.54 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 44,540.81 points.

On the other hand, GIFT Nifty was trading 160 points, or 0.66 per cent, higher at 24,250 points. The Nikkei index surged 598.58 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 65,925 points.

The KOSPI index was also witnessing a sharp rally, gaining 400.15 points, or 5.82 per cent, to trade at 6,871.32 points.

The Jakarta Composite Index also advanced sharply, rising 79.87 points, or 1.25 per cent, to 6,473.99 points. Similarly, the Hang Seng Index gained 292.93 points, or 1.15 per cent, to trade at 25,788 points. The SET Composite Index was up 0.31 per cent at 1,614.83 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.28 per cent to trade at 3,905.23 points.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar