Global financial markets are facing renewed uncertainty as escalating geopolitical tensions, elevated crude oil prices and fresh concerns over interest rate hikes weigh on investor sentiment. With peace negotiations showing little progress, Brent crude has climbed above $110 a barrel, adding to inflation worries. Disappointing earnings from major technology companies have dragged US stock futures lower, while Asian markets are also trading in negative territory. Meanwhile, fears of further interest rate increases, particularly in Europe, have added to pressure on global markets.
Reliance's Jio Platforms IPO received record applications on the first day, although retail subscription reached only 70%. The shares command a premium of more than ₹250 in the unofficial grey market.
Gift Nifty closed at 22,782.50 in derivatives trading at GIFT City on Wednesday night. It fell to 22,658 this morning before recovering slightly. The indications suggest that the Indian market may open with losses today.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to Mumbai and Jamnagar has opened the way for a fresh offer in the India-US trade negotiations. The new proposal reportedly offers India tariffs lower than those imposed on countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh. However, the exact tariff rate has not been disclosed.
Rubio and US President Donald Trump have said that an agreement could be reached soon. India, however, has not responded yet.
The Super 301 investigation against India continues, raising the possibility of higher tariffs later. The US elections are scheduled for November 3, with indications that Trump's party could face setbacks. India appears reluctant to rush into an agreement under these circumstances.
The US urgently wants Indian refiners, including Reliance, to purchase more Venezuelan crude oil and process it to ease the global diesel shortage. India is expected to use this requirement as leverage to negotiate more favourable terms.
US stock markets extended their gains on Wednesday. However, US futures are trading sharply lower this morning.
SpaceX's return to profitability and developments surrounding a proposed Tesla-SpaceX merger boosted market sentiment on Wednesday. SpaceX shares rose 7%, while Tesla gained 3%.
A nine-fold expansion in SpaceX's AI business supported AI and semiconductor companies. Streaming platform Netflix declined 5% after lowering its business outlook.
Wednesday's US market closing figures:
Dow Jones: 52,856.09, up 360.21 points (0.69%)
S&P 500: 7,757.17, up 44.60 points (0.58%)
Nasdaq Composite: 26,702.86, down 278.04 points (1.05%)
US stock futures are trading lower today. Declines in Tesla and IBM shares, along with a reduction in Meta's gains, are weighing on futures.
Meta reported 26% revenue growth in the third quarter and raised its fourth-quarter revenue forecast. Its shares gained 2.17% in after-hours trading.
Tesla reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, although automotive revenue declined 3%. The stock fell 3.32%.
IBM's revenue and net profit came in below expectations, sending its shares down 4.64%.
US futures movements this morning:
Dow Jones futures: Down 163 points (0.31%)
S&P 500 futures: Down 37 points (0.47%)
Nasdaq futures: Down 255 points (0.85%)
Indian American Depository Receipts (ADRs) showed mixed movements in New York on Wednesday.
HDFC Bank: Fell 1.69% during regular trading and slipped another 0.09% in after-hours trading to close at $22.65.
ICICI Bank: Declined 1.14% in regular trading but gained 1.60% in after-hours trading to end at $30.01.
Infosys: Rose 0.71% during regular trading before falling 1.58% in after-hours trading to close at $12.55.
Wipro: Surged 4.88% during regular trading but declined 1.32% in after-hours trading to end at $2.1217.
European stock markets rallied on Wednesday, supported by strong corporate earnings.
Retail inflation in Britain reached 3.5%, strengthening expectations that the Bank of England would raise interest rates.
In France, where fears of renewed unrest persist, the yield on 10-year government bonds crossed 5%. There are concerns that the development could unsettle bond markets in other European countries.
Major Asian markets are trading lower this morning.
South Korea's Kospi: Down 0.80%
Japan's Nikkei: Down 0.72%
Australia: Down 0.65%
Hong Kong's Hang Seng: Down 1.28%
China's Shanghai Composite: Down 0.60%
Taiwan: Up 0.20%
South Korea's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged.
Indian stock markets declined again on Wednesday. Gains during the closing auction session helped reduce losses in the benchmark indices, but the broader market witnessed a sharp sell-off, reflected in the steep declines in mid-cap and small-cap indices.
The benchmarks opened strongly and extended their gains initially. However, selling pressure emerged after about half an hour. The Sensex fell as much as 1,400 points before recovering some of its losses.
Despite the enthusiastic response to Jio Platforms' IPO, all sectors except IT ended in negative territory. The IT index surged 2.88%.
The broader market was particularly weak, with nearly four stocks declining for every stock that advanced.
Market breadth:
BSE: 904 stocks advanced, while 3,554 declined.
NSE: 605 stocks advanced, while 2,970 declined.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers on Wednesday, purchasing shares worth ₹1,022.32 crore in the cash market. Domestic funds and institutions recorded net purchases of ₹1,614.32 crore.
Wednesday's closing figures:
Sensex: 73,709.69, down 143.21 points (0.19%)
Nifty 50: 22,811.35, down 77.60 points (0.34%)
Bank Nifty: 54,976.90, down 511.20 points (0.92%)
Nifty Midcap 100: 57,565.85, down 922.10 points (1.58%)
Nifty Smallcap 100: 18,487.30, down 448.45 points (2.37%)
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services reported a 13.2% increase in net interest income and a 55% rise in net profit for the second quarter. Total income increased 18%, while assets grew 21%.
Indian Hotels reported 21.7% revenue growth and a 19.5% increase in net profit in the second quarter. Its profit margin declined from 27.9% to 19.95%.
KEI Industries recorded 38.5% revenue growth in the second quarter, while net profit increased 29.3%. Both profit margin and net profit were below market expectations.
Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, reported 19.4% revenue growth and a 35.9% rise in net profit in the second quarter. Its profit margin improved from 2.93% to 3.1%.
A company secured a favourable ruling in a tax case involving more than ₹340 crore against its Spanish subsidiary.
Bharat Electronics received a ₹776 crore order from the Ministry of Defence for small radar systems.
Gold recovered slightly on Wednesday after declines in previous sessions. However, prices weakened again this morning. Gold closed at $4,142.30 an ounce on Wednesday, gai ning $16.20 (0.39%). It declined to $4,114 this morning.
In Kerala, the price of 22-carat gold remained unchanged on Wednesday at ₹1,07,120 per sovereign (8 grams).
Silver closed at $58.10 an ounce on Wednesday before declining to $57.48 this morning.
Other precious metal prices:
Platinum: $1,604
Palladium: $1,062
Rhodium: $8,625
International rubber prices declined, while prices in Kerala continued to rise due to rainfall.
Rubber prices:
Bangkok RSS 1: $290.20 per quintal
Bangkok RSS 3: $286.80 per quintal
Kerala RSS 4: ₹28,950 per quintal
Industrial metals advanced on Wednesday, except copper. Copper declined 0.48% to $14,470 a tonne amid indications that the US was unlikely to increase tariffs on the metal.
Aluminium rose 0.69% to $3,024.50 a tonne. Nickel surged 3.11%, while tin, lead and zinc also recorded gains.
Cocoa prices rose 0.66% to close at $5,839 a tonne. Arabica coffee gained 1.72% to $3.166 a pound. Palm oil declined 1.04% to 4,767 Malaysian ringgit a tonne.
The US dollar index edged higher on Wednesday to close at 101.78. It slipped to 101.72 this morning.
Major currency movements:
Euro: $1.1232
British pound: $1.3394
Japanese yen: 158.17 per US dollar
Chinese yuan: 6.68 per US dollar
The yield on US 10-year Treasury bonds declined to 5.107% this morning.
The Indian rupee strengthened for the eighth consecutive trading session, marking its longest winning streak in eight years. It has gained 2.45% during this period. On Wednesday, the dollar declined by 46 paise to close at ₹94.47.
In the offshore forward market this morning, the dollar fell to ₹94.30 before recovering to ₹94.47. With the dollar index also weakening, the rupee could extend its gains.
Other currency rates:
Chinese yuan: ₹14.14
Euro: ₹106.13
Attacks continue in the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi Arabia, keeping crude oil prices elevated. Brent crude closed at $108.82 a barrel on Wednesday and rose to $110.16 this morning. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading at $98.22 a barrel.
Cryptocurrencies returned to positive territory this morning.
Bitcoin: Above $84,100
Ether: Above $2,470
Solana: Above $107
(October 21, Wednesday)
Sensex: 73,709.69, down 0.19%
Nifty 50: 22,811.35, down 0.34%
Bank Nifty: 54,976.90, down 0.92%
Nifty Midcap 100: 57,565.85, down 1.58%
Nifty Smallcap 100: 18,487.30, down 2.31%
Dow Jones: 52,856.09, up 0.69%
S&P 500: 7,757.17, up 0.58%
Nasdaq: 26,702.86, up 1.05%
US dollar: ₹94.46, down ₹0.46
Gold (ounce): $4,142.30, up $16.20
Gold (sovereign): ₹1,07,120, unchanged
Brent crude oil: $108.82, up $1.23
