Just noticed something worth tracking - if you're wondering whether the stock market is open on Republic Day, the answer in India is no. The exchanges shut down for the national holiday, though commodity derivatives still trade during evening sessions. Interesting timing because Indian markets had a rough week leading up to it, with Sensex and Nifty both diving over 2 percent. That wiped out roughly Rs 16 lakh crore in investor wealth, and the rupee hit record lows against the dollar as foreign money kept flowing out.

Meanwhile, there's a lot happening globally that's keeping traders on edge. The India-EU free trade agreement looks like it might finally get announced after nearly 20 years of negotiations. On the tariff front, the U.S. is signaling it might drop those extra 25 percent levies on Indian oil imports as Russian shipments decline. But Trump's been stirring up fresh tariff threats against Canada, which is keeping markets nervous.

Asian markets opened mostly red this morning, following weakness in U.S. stocks which just wrapped their second straight week of declines. The tension between Washington and Tehran is another factor weighing on sentiment - Iran's Supreme Leader apparently went underground as U.S. warships head toward the region, and Tehran put up some pretty direct warning murals. Back in the States, there's also risk of another government shutdown brewing and earnings from major tech firms coming up.

On the commodity side, gold just crossed $5,000 an ounce for the first time, pushing toward $5,100. The dollar weakened against other major currencies amid speculation about possible Japanese intervention. Oil was relatively flat after climbing 2 percent earlier.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday - Dow dropped 0.6 percent while the S&P 500 barely moved and Nasdaq ticked up 0.3 percent. Europe's Stoxx 600 slipped 0.1 percent, snapping a five-week winning streak. The whole picture is basically a mix of geopolitical risks, tariff uncertainty, and earnings expectations. If you're checking whether the stock market is open on Republic Day elsewhere or tracking these global shifts, definitely worth keeping an eye on how these tensions and policy decisions play out over the coming weeks.