The GIFT Nifty has been trading in the green. It is up 11 points, or 0.05%, above the 23,300 mark in early trade, pointing to a positive opening for Indian equities. Markets will track Asian cues, crude oil prices and US Treasury yields, while FII-DII flows and other global developments could influence trading sentiment through Friday’s session.

In the last trading session, the Sensex fell 21.86 points, or 0.03%, to close at 74,314.59, while the Nifty gained 53 points, or 0.23%, to end at 23,270.60.

Key global and domestic cues for September 18, 2026

Asian markets opened largely higher, with the Nikkei 225 gaining over 1%, while South Korea’s Kospi advanced 2%. The Kosdaq rose 0.9% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4%, while Japan’s Topix slipped 0.1%.

Crude oil prices were lower in early trade on September 18, with Brent crude at $104.02 per barrel, down 0.76%. Meanwhile, US crude oil traded at $101.17 per barrel, declining 0.73%.

US Treasury yields declined in Thursday’s session, with the 10-year yield falling more than 7 basis points to 4.93%. The 30-year yield slipped over 6 basis points to 5.282%, while the 2-year yield declined more than 5 basis points to 4.67%, a day after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates.

In the last trading session on September 17, US markets ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 316 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 rose 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.7%.

Dow Jones futures gained 30 points, or 0.06%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.08% and 0.15%, respectively.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar’s value against a basket of six foreign currencies, was trading at 100.23. The index evaluates the strength or weakness of the US dollar in comparison to major currencies.

The basket contains currencies such as the British Pound, Euro, Swedish Krona, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, etc. The Indian rupee ended Thursday’s session on September 17, 2026, at Rs 95.94 against the US dollar.

In the latest trading session, COMEX gold fell 0.03% to 4,398.

The rate for 24-carat gold today is Rs 1,52,830 per 10 grams. The 24 kt gold rate today in Delhi is Rs 1,52,980 per 10 grams. The 18-carat gold price today in India is Rs 1,14,620. The 24-carat gold rate in Dubai today is Rs 1,53,430.

In the latest trading session, COMEX silver up 0.11% to 64.14.

Silver prices in India stood at Rs 249.90 per gram, while the price was Rs 2,49,900 per kilogram.

On September 17, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,208.76 crore in the cash market, remaining net sellers. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 3,617.75 crore, emerging as net buyers during the session.

The sectoral market was led by Electronics stocks, which gained 3.97%. Aviation stocks rose 2.57%, while Insurance stocks advanced 2.41%.

Among major business groups, Adventz Group led the gainers, rising 3.23%, followed by Lakshmi Group Coimbatore at 2.94% and Pennar Group at 2.79%. Tata Group stocks gained 0.93% in the last trading session.

On the other hand, Nagarjuna Group fell 2.27%, while Indiabulls Group and Essel Group declined 1.74% each.