Persistent uncertainty in West Asia continues to keep global markets on edge, but a modest easing in US inflation has provided some relief to investors. The softer inflation reading has reduced concerns about further interest-rate increases and lifted technology stocks in the US, while Asian markets are broadly higher today.
In India, the focus will also remain on Tata Group stocks following Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran's decision not to seek another term. The stocks could respond to indications about his successor, with expectations that the next chairman could come from within the group.
Gift Nifty's close at 24,417 on Wednesday night and its rise to 24,445 this morning point to a largely steady opening for Indian equities.
India's retail inflation rose to 4.45 percent in July from 4.38 percent in June, with food and fuel prices contributing to the increase. In the US, consumer inflation eased to 3.4 percent in July from 3.5 percent in June, helped by lower fuel prices. Core inflation, excluding food and fuel, also moderated.
The softer US inflation reading supported technology stocks, even as uncertainty over West Asia kept the broader market mixed.
Super Micro Computer and CoreWeave surged about 19 percent each, while Dell Technologies gained 10 percent. SpaceX rose nearly 10 percent to cross $146. Nvidia also advanced.
Tesla, Apple and Amazon, however, closed lower.
Dow Jones: down 21.58 points, or 0.04 percent, at 53,770.27
S&P 500: up 20.30 points, or 0.26 percent, at 7,748.50
Nasdaq Composite: up 143.04 points, or 0.54 percent, at 26,588.49
US stock futures were slightly lower in morning trade.
Dow Jones futures: down 61 points, or 0.11 percent
S&P 500 futures: down 4 points, or 0.05 percent
Nasdaq futures: down 22 points, or 0.07 percent
Indian American Depository Receipts (ADRs) on the New York market were mixed.
HDFC Bank fell 0.77 percent during regular trading before gaining 0.35 percent in after-hours trade to close at $23.19. ICICI Bank declined 0.10 percent during regular hours but gained 1.25 percent after hours to $30.21.
Infosys dropped 2.54 percent during regular trading before recovering 0.57 percent after hours to $12.35. Wipro fell 1.02 percent during regular hours and another 0.51 percent in extended trading to close at $1.94.
European markets closed slightly lower on Wednesday. The Euro Stoxx, Germany's DAX, France's benchmark index and the UK's FTSE all ended in the red.
Luxury retail stocks, including LVMH and Kering, came under selling pressure, while technology shares advanced.
Most Asian markets are trading higher today, led by South Korea.
South Korea's KOSPI: up about 4 percent
SK Hynix: up 7.5 percent
Samsung Electronics: up 4.5 percent
Japan's Nikkei: up 1.5 percent
Taiwan index: up 1.3 percent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng: down 0.60 percent
Shanghai Composite: up 0.30 percent
Tata Group stocks came under pressure on Wednesday after Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran announced that he would not seek reappointment when his term ends in February.
The market's immediate focus is now on the succession process. A quick decision could help Tata Group stocks recover from the initial sell-off.
Tata Steel CEO TV Narendran is among the names being discussed as a possible successor. Chandrasekaran is expected to remain in office until the end of his current term in February.
Tata Group companies lost significant market value following the announcement, with the group's listed companies collectively shedding about ₹68,000 crore in market capitalisation.
The group also faces challenges on the governance front. Tata Sons' annual general meeting scheduled for next week has been affected by restrictions imposed on two trusts that together hold 68 percent of Tata Sons, following complaints before the Mumbai Charity Commissioner.
The future direction of businesses such as Air India and Tata Digital could also depend significantly on the priorities of the new chairman.
Indian equities ended slightly lower after a volatile session on Wednesday. The Sensex fell to 77,497 and the Nifty 50 to 24,265 during the session before recovering substantially.
IT, consumer durables, healthcare and auto stocks declined, while public sector banks, metals and media stocks gained.
Foreign portfolio investors remained net sellers, selling shares worth ₹1,002.50 crore in the cash market. Domestic institutional investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth ₹5,841.66 crore.
Wednesday's close:
Sensex: down 187.90 points, or 0.24 percent, at 77,966.40
Nifty 50: down 35.75 points, or 0.15 percent, at 24,435.95
Bank Nifty: up 439.60 points, or 0.77 percent, at 57,885.85
Nifty Midcap 100: up 180.55 points, or 0.28 percent, at 64,024.40
Nifty Smallcap 100: down 35.50 points, or 0.18 percent, at 19,821.65
Market breadth remained weak. On the BSE, 1,793 stocks advanced while 2,535 declined. On the NSE, 1,493 stocks rose and 1,851 fell.
Tata Motors' commercial vehicle business reported a 193 percent increase in first-quarter revenue, while net profit rose 83.3 percent.
IRCTC reported a marginal decline in first-quarter net profit despite a significant increase in revenue.
Sun TV Network's first-quarter net profit rose 16.93 percent.
Bank of America will invest ₹18,268 crore in Jio Financial's subsidiary Jio Credit and acquire a 49.9 percent stake.
Gold extended its gains as lower US inflation and changing expectations around West Asian developments supported demand for the precious metal.
Gold rose 0.93 percent on Wednesday to close at $4,409.70 an ounce. It climbed to $4,449.90 this morning before easing to around $4,424.
In Kerala, the price of 22-carat gold rose ₹760 per sovereign on Wednesday to ₹1,13,560.
Silver also gained, closing at $65.46 an ounce on Wednesday and rising to $66.08 this morning.
Other precious metals were trading at:
Platinum: $1,753
Palladium: $1,352
Rhodium: $8,425
Industrial metals moved in different directions on Wednesday.
Copper fell 0.34 percent to $14,375.30. Aluminium, which had risen sharply in recent sessions, dropped 1.92 percent to $3,308.45.
Zinc, lead, nickel and tin gained.
Cocoa prices rose 1.15 percent to $5,719 a tonne on Wednesday amid concerns over production.
Ghana's cocoa board expects output to fall 16 percent because of adverse weather. Production in Ivory Coast, another major cocoa producer, is also expected to decline by more than 10 percent. Production across Asia and Latin America could fall by another 100,000 tonnes.
Arabica coffee declined 0.49 percent to $3.17 a pound. Concerns over the impact of El Niño on next year's production continue to influence the market.
The US dollar index rose to 100.01 on Wednesday before easing to 99.94 this morning.
The euro weakened to $1.1529 and the pound to $1.3495. The Japanese yen stood at 159.31 to the dollar, while the Chinese yuan remained around 6.75 per dollar.
The yield on US 10-year Treasury bonds eased to 4.682 percent this morning.
The rupee ended higher after a volatile session on Wednesday. The dollar fell 11 paise to close at ₹95.33.
In the offshore non-deliverable forward market, the dollar was trading around ₹95.35 this morning. The Chinese yuan eased to ₹14.14 and the euro to ₹109.92.
Crude oil prices eased slightly this morning after rising on Wednesday.
Brent crude fell $1.28 to $87.70 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was at $82.
Major cryptocurrencies were trading slightly higher this morning.
Bitcoin climbed above $63,550, while Ether moved above $1,880 and Solana above $75.60.
Sensex 77,966.40 -0.24%
Nifty 50 24,435.95 -0.15%
Bank Nifty 57,885.85 +0.47%
Nifty Midcap 100 64,024.40 +0.28%
Nifty Smallcap 100 19,821.65 -0.18%
Dow Jones 53,770.27 -0.04%
S&P 500 7,748.50 +0.26%
Nasdaq 26,588.49 +0.54%
Dollar ₹95.33 -₹0.11
Gold (ounce) $4,409.70 +$40.60
Gold (sovereign) ₹1,13,560 +₹760
Brent crude $88.98 +$0.07
