Indian equity markets are expected to begin Wednesday's trading session on a strong note, supported by gains on Wall Street and positive trends across major Asian markets. While crude oil prices continue to hover around $110 a barrel, the rupee is expected to strengthen against the US dollar.
GIFT Nifty, traded at GIFT City, closed at 23,035 on Monday night and climbed to 23,041 in early Wednesday trading. The movement indicates that Indian equities could open with healthy gains.
Representatives from Pakistan and Qatar held discussions in Iran on Tuesday, but the talks failed to provide a clear indication of progress towards peace.
Major developments are considered unlikely before the US elections scheduled for November 3. Crude oil prices continue to hover around $110 a barrel. Markets fear that Iran could intensify attacks around the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to push global energy prices higher.
Meanwhile, a US delegation is expected to arrive in Ukraine on Wednesday for discussions. The American team is likely to press for a reduction in attacks targeting energy infrastructure.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday and held discussions with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Rubio indicated that an India-US trade agreement could be signed within weeks. US President Donald Trump also offered a similar indication at an event in the United States.
However, Jaishankar limited his remarks to saying that both countries were moving closer to an agreement.
Reports suggest India is waiting to assess the political climate following the November 3 US elections before taking a final decision.
Rubio is scheduled to visit Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery and the Vantara wildlife conservation facility.
He is also expected to hold discussions with the leadership of Reliance Industries, Tata Group and Adani Group.
US equity markets overcame geopolitical concerns and recorded gains on Tuesday, although the Nasdaq Composite ended marginally lower.
Artificial intelligence-related shares and the technology sector showed resilience.
General Motors shares declined around 7% despite the company reporting strong financial results. In contrast, 3M shares advanced 5.78% following its earnings announcement.
Expectations of strong third-quarter corporate earnings helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average post another substantial gain.
The Nasdaq, which had climbed more than 1% on Monday, slipped marginally on Tuesday after Netflix's revenue outlook disappointed investors.
Although Netflix reported encouraging financial results, its management projected slower growth in advertising and other revenue streams. The stock declined 1.66% during regular trading and fell around 6% in extended trading.
SpaceX's financial results, released after regular trading hours, attracted considerable investor interest.
The company reportedly recorded a 161% increase in revenue, helping its shares rise as much as 8% in extended trading.
Elon Musk announced that a committee had been appointed to examine a possible merger between SpaceX and Tesla.
Musk also said that every child in the United States would receive one SpaceX share next year.
Dow Jones: 52,495.88 (+529.85 points, +1.02%)
S&P 500: 7,712.57 (+21.84 points, +0.28%)
Nasdaq Composite: 26,424.82 (-6.07 points, -0.02%)
US stock futures showed mixed trends in early Wednesday trading.
Dow Jones futures declined 23 points, or 0.04%.
S&P 500 futures advanced 20 points, or 0.27%, while Nasdaq futures rose 247 points, or 0.83%.
Indian companies listed on US exchanges recorded mixed movements in regular and extended trading.
HDFC Bank's American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) slipped 0.09% during regular trading. The stock declined a further 0.96% in extended trading to $22.84.
ICICI Bank gained 1.36% during the regular session and remained unchanged in extended trading at $29.88.
Infosys jumped 3.77% during regular trading but declined 0.39% in extended trading to $12.61.
Wipro surged 6.22% during the regular session before slipping 2.71% in extended trading to $1.9945.
European stock markets declined on both Monday and Tuesday.
Semiconductor companies continued to face selling pressure, contributing to the weakness across major indices.
Most major Asian stock markets advanced on Wednesday, following positive trends in the United States.
South Korea's Kospi index led the gains, rising around 3% in early trading.
Japan's Nikkei advanced 1.10%, despite data showing that Japanese exports declined 16.7% in September.
Australia's benchmark index slipped 0.10%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.40%, while China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.10%.
Taiwan's benchmark stock index gained around 2%.
Indian equity markets ended lower on Monday after two consecutive sessions of gains. The Sensex slipped below 74,000, while the Nifty 50 fell beneath the 23,000 mark.
The broader market also witnessed selling pressure, with the midcap and smallcap indices declining more than 1% each. Market breadth remained weak.
On the BSE, 1,283 stocks advanced while 3,153 declined. On the NSE, 846 stocks gained, while 2,717 ended lower. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) returned as net sellers on Monday, offloading shares worth ₹1,148.64 crore in the cash market.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), including mutual funds and other institutions, made net purchases worth ₹3,201.19 crore.
Indian market closing levels on Monday
Sensex: 73,852.90 (-876.37 points, -1.17%)
Nifty 50: 22,888.95 (-257.20 points, -1.11%)
Bank Nifty: 55,488.10 (-355.90 points, -0.64%)
Nifty Midcap 100: 58,487.95 (-641.80 points, -1.09%)
Nifty Smallcap 100: 18,935.75 (-194.05 points, -1.01%)
Several companies have announced their second-quarter financial results, with strong earnings growth reported by some financial services and metal companies.
Bajaj Finance reported a 23.6% increase in net interest income in the second quarter.
Total income grew 23%, while net profit increased 28.8%. The company's assets expanded 26%.
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), which provides financing for renewable energy projects, reported a 16.5% rise in operating profit in the second quarter.
However, net profit increased by just 0.5%.
Waaree Renewable Technologies recorded 36.53% revenue growth in the second quarter. However, net profit declined 30%. The company reported an order book worth approximately ₹5,500 crore.
Hindustan Zinc reported a 76.5% increase in revenue during the second quarter. Net profit surged 142%, benefiting from higher prices for its products.
L&T Technology Services reported a 3.4% increase in revenue compared with the previous quarter. Net profit rose 53.7% sequentially.
Piramal Finance reported a 35% increase in net interest income during the second quarter. Net profit advanced 67%.
Gold prices continued their downward movement in international markets, with investors remaining concerned about the possibility of further increases in US interest rates.
New housing construction and home sales in the United States declined for the third consecutive month, suggesting that elevated interest rates are putting pressure on consumers.
Although the weak housing data could have eased concerns about further interest rate increases, gold prices continued to fall.
Gold declined around 1% over Monday and Tuesday, and the downward movement continued on Wednesday morning.
Analysts at CIBC Capital Markets, who had previously projected that gold would reach $6,500 an ounce in December, have reportedly reduced their target to $4,500.
They have also lowered their forecast for the average gold price in 2027 from $6,500 to $5,200 an ounce.
Gold closed Tuesday at $4,126.10 an ounce, down $15.80, or 0.38%.
In early Wednesday trading, the price declined further to around $4,121 an ounce.
In Kerala, the price of 22-carat gold fell ₹1,440 per sovereign of eight grams on Tuesday to ₹1,07,120.
Silver, meanwhile, moved higher.
Silver closed Tuesday at $58.01 an ounce and advanced to $58.06 in early Wednesday trading.
Metal / Price
Gold: $4,121 per ounce
Silver: $58.06 per ounce
Platinum: $1,646 per ounce
Palladium: $1,085 per ounce
Rhodium: $8,625 per ounce
Rubber prices remained largely unchanged in international markets.
However, prices continued to rise in Kerala due to rain-related disruptions.
In Bangkok, RSS-1 rubber was quoted at $291 per quintal, while RSS-3 stood at $287.60 per quintal.
In Kerala, RSS-4 rubber prices climbed to ₹28,850 per quintal.
Industrial metal prices showed mixed movements on Tuesday.
Copper, which had declined on Monday, gained 0.30% to reach $14,539.15 per tonne.
Aluminium fell 0.53% to $3,003.72 per tonne.
Nickel and tin recorded gains, while lead and zinc declined.
Cocoa prices increased 1.97% to close at $5,799 per tonne.
Arabica coffee declined 1.77% to $3.10 per pound.
Palm oil prices gained 1.07% to reach 4,817 Malaysian ringgit per tonne.
The US dollar index weakened on Tuesday, closing at 101.70.
However, the index recovered slightly to 101.81 in early Wednesday trading.
The euro was quoted at $1.1226, while the British pound stood at $1.3371.
The Japanese yen traded at 158.33 against the dollar.
The Chinese yuan weakened to 6.68 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond climbed to 5.127% on Wednesday morning, reflecting continued concerns about the direction of US interest rates.
The Indian rupee has been strengthening in recent sessions and is expected to record further gains on Wednesday.
On Monday, the US dollar declined four paise to close at ₹94.92.
In the offshore forward market on Wednesday morning, the dollar fell to ₹94.73.
The decline in the dollar index also indicates the possibility of further appreciation in the rupee.
The Chinese yuan was quoted at ₹14.19, while the euro declined to ₹106.44.
Crude oil prices remained elevated amid geopolitical uncertainty in West Asia. After crossing $111 a barrel on Monday, crude oil prices eased slightly.
Brent crude declined to close at $108.79 a barrel on Tuesday. However, prices increased again in early Wednesday trading, reaching $110.02 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was quoted at $98.90 a barrel.
Major cryptocurrencies returned to positive territory on Wednesday. Bitcoin climbed above $82,940 in early trading. Ether advanced beyond $2,450, while Solana rose above $106.50.
(Monday, October 19)
Sensex: 73,852.90 (-1.17%)
Nifty 50: 22,888.95 (-1.11%)
Bank Nifty: 55,488.10 (-0.64%)
Nifty Midcap 100: 58,487.95 (-1.09%)
Nifty Smallcap 100: 18,935.75 (-1.01%)
Dow Jones: 51,966.03 (-0.07%)
S&P 500: 7,690.73 (+0.41%)
Nasdaq: 26,430.89 (+1.11%)
US dollar: ₹94.92 (-₹0.04)
Gold, international: $4,141.90/oz (-$24.20)
Gold, Kerala (8g): ₹1,08,560 (+₹280)
Brent crude: $109.55 (-$0.31)
Dow Jones: 52,495.88 (+1.02%)
S&P 500: 7,712.57 (+0.28%)
Nasdaq: 26,424.82 (-0.02%)
Gold, international: $4,126.10/oz (-$15.80)
Gold, Kerala (8g): ₹1,07,120 (-₹1,440)
Brent crude: $108.79 (-$0.76)