US stock market to Nikkei: Here’s global equity heatmap you should know before opening of the Indian stock market today

The Indian stock market is expected to open with a cautious bias on Friday amid escalating US-Iran tensions, elevated crude oil prices, and broad weakness across global markets. Asian markets traded lower with Japan's Nikkei crashing 4.23 percent and Hang Seng dropping 1.56 percent, while US markets ended lower overnight led by a semiconductor sell-off, with Nasdaq falling 1.47 percent. Gift Nifty was trading around 24,097, indicating a flat start for Nifty 50 and Sensex, with the 24,000 level seen as key support and the 23,800 to 23,900 zone as the next downside zone if breached.