Peace efforts in West Asia have made little progress, although mediation efforts continue. Signs of a shake-up in Iran’s military leadership suggest that hardliners opposed to compromise are tightening their grip.
Crude oil prices have moved closer to $90 a barrel, while Asian markets are showing signs of uncertainty.
Gift Nifty, which trades in the derivatives market at GIFT City, closed at 24,546 on Tuesday night. It slipped to 24,527 this morning before recovering. This suggests that the Indian market could open largely flat today.
India’s July retail inflation data will be released this evening. A survey of financial analysts expects inflation to rise to 4.50 percent from 4.38 percent in June. US retail inflation data will also be released today, with inflation expected to come in at 3.4 percent.
Reports continue to swing between the possibility of an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz and the prospect of no deal. The lack of clarity over the West Asian situation pushed oil prices higher and stocks lower.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX fell more than 3 percent on Tuesday, while Tesla edged higher. Technology stocks, including Nvidia and Apple, declined.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 184.13 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 53,791.85. The S&P 500 declined 24.91 points, or 0.32 percent, to 7,728.20, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 159.91 points, or 0.60 percent, to end at 26,445.45.
US stock futures are trading mixed this morning. Dow Jones futures are down 19 points, or 0.04 percent. S&P 500 futures are up five points, or 0.06 percent, while Nasdaq futures have gained 40 points, or 0.13 percent.
In the New York ADR market on Tuesday, HDFC Bank fell 0.68 percent during regular trading but recovered 0.52 percent in after-hours trading to close at $23.41.
ICICI Bank declined 0.70 percent during regular trading and remained unchanged in after-hours trading, closing at $29.87.
Infosys, which gained 0.32 percent during regular trading, fell 0.79 percent in after-hours trading to close at $12.50. Wipro declined 1.01 percent during regular trading before gaining 0.51 percent in after-hours trading to end at $1.98.
European markets moved in different directions on Tuesday. The Euro Stoxx and Germany’s DAX gained, while France’s benchmark index and the UK’s FTSE declined.
Energy stocks performed well, while travel and consumer stocks came under pressure.
Asian markets are trading with volatility this morning. South Korea’s KOSPI has gained around 2 percent. Japan’s Nikkei is down 0.20 percent, while Taiwan’s benchmark index is also trading higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down 0.60 percent, while Shanghai stocks have gained.
Rising crude oil prices and continued uncertainty in West Asia pulled Indian equities lower on Tuesday. Pharma, IT and healthcare stocks gained, while FMCG, realty, metal, auto, banking and financial stocks declined.
Chennai Petroleum Corporation surged 16.79 percent and MRPL jumped 11.94 percent on Tuesday. The gains were attributed mainly to higher crude oil prices and improved gross refining margins.
Foreign investors continued to be net buyers. They made net purchases worth ₹258.55 crore in the cash market on Tuesday. Domestic funds were also net buyers, purchasing shares worth ₹24.77 crore.
The Sensex fell 388.19 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 78,154.25. The Nifty 50 declined 112.10 points, or 0.46 percent, to 24,471.70. Bank Nifty fell 240.70 points, or 0.42 percent, to 57,446.25.
The Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 7.60 points, or 0.01 percent, to 63,848.10, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 54.49 points, or 0.27 percent, to 19,868.40.
Market breadth remained weak. On the BSE, 1,919 stocks advanced while 2,396 declined. On the NSE, 1,475 stocks gained and 1,852 fell.
Manappuram Finance reported a 28.1 percent increase in net interest income, while net profit jumped nearly fourfold to ₹584.5 crore in the first quarter.
Bata India reported a 3.9 percent rise in revenue, while net profit increased 23.1 percent.
Public-sector company NBCC reported a 6 percent decline in first-quarter revenue, but net profit rose 17.2 percent.
JSW Dulux reported a 2.8 percent decline in first-quarter revenue, while net profit fell 12.42 percent.
Gold prices continue to respond to developments in West Asia. Prices have risen when hopes of a peace deal weaken and fallen when the possibility of an agreement improves.
Gold fell nearly 0.5 percent on Tuesday to close at $4,369.10 an ounce. It recovered this morning to reach $4,396.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold rose ₹1,360 per sovereign on Monday to ₹1,12,800.
Silver declined on Tuesday to close at $64.77 an ounce and recovered to $65.05 this morning.
Platinum was at $1,739, palladium at $1,349 and rhodium at $8,425.
International rubber prices edged higher, while prices in Kerala declined marginally.
In Bangkok, RSS 1 rose to $284.40 per quintal and RSS 3 to $280.95. In Kerala, RSS 4 slipped to ₹28,300 per quintal.
Industrial metals, except nickel and tin, gained on Tuesday.
Copper rose 0.94 percent to $14,424.05 a tonne, while aluminium jumped 1.55 percent to $3,373.30. Zinc and lead also advanced.
Cocoa prices fell 5.06 percent on Tuesday to $5,527 a tonne.
Ghana’s cocoa board expects production to decline 16 percent because of adverse weather conditions. Production in Ivory Coast is also expected to fall by more than 10 percent. The two countries are the world’s largest cocoa producers.
Production across Asia and Latin America is also estimated to decline by around 100,000 tonnes.
Arabica coffee prices fell 0.35 percent to $3.13 a pound. There are concerns that production could decline next year because of El Niño conditions.
The US dollar index closed at 99.83 on Tuesday and rose to 99.85 this morning.
The euro slipped to $1.1542 and the pound to $1.3508. The Japanese yen weakened to 159.25 against the dollar, while the Chinese yuan remained at around 6.75 per dollar.
The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds eased to 4.692 percent this morning.
The rupee ended lower on Tuesday after a volatile session. The dollar gained 14 paise to close at ₹95.44.
In the offshore non-deliverable forward (NDF) market, the dollar was trading at ₹95.38 this morning. The Chinese yuan rose to ₹14.15 and the euro to ₹110.17.
Crude oil prices rose on Tuesday as hopes of an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz remained uncertain.
Brent crude gained $1.19 to close at $88.91 a barrel. It rose further this morning to $89.78. WTI crude was trading at $84.03.
Cryptocurrencies are trading in different directions.
Bitcoin slipped below $63,650 this morning. Ether was above $1,880, while Solana remained above $76.
Sensex 78,154.25 — -0.49%
Nifty 50 24,471.70 — -0.46%
Bank Nifty 57,446.25 — -0.42%
Nifty Midcap 100 63,848.10 — -0.01%
Nifty Smallcap 100 19,868.40 — +0.27%
Dow Jones 53,791.85 — -0.34%
S&P 500 7,728.20 — -0.32%
Nasdaq 26,445.45 — -0.60%
Dollar ₹95.44 — +₹0.14
Gold (ounce) $4,369.10 — -$21.00
Gold (sovereign) ₹1,12,800 — +₹1,360
Brent crude $88.91 — +$1.19
