Markets are showing no clear direction. Crude oil remains above $87 a barrel. US markets closed lower yesterday, although futures are trading with strong gains.
Nvidia’s better-than-expected results are lifting chip stocks. Asian markets are also moving in different directions.
In derivatives trading at GIFT City, GIFT Nifty closed at 24,345.50 on Wednesday night. It rose to 24,366 this morning. This indicates that the Indian market could open with significant losses today.
Nvidia, the leading manufacturer of artificial intelligence chips, beat market expectations in the second quarter and raised its growth outlook for the third quarter.
Second-quarter revenue stood at $96.2 billion, with earnings per share of $2.22. The market had expected revenue of $92.3 billion and earnings per share of $2.09.
Revenue increased 106% and net profit 126% from the same quarter last year.
Nvidia expects third-quarter revenue of $108 billion. Chief executive Jensen Huang expects revenue to grow 70% in 2028.
Nvidia shares fell 1.59% during regular trading before surging 4.24% in after-hours trade.
Strong AI-related revenue growth in the second quarter pushed Salesforce up 13%, Okta 20% and CrowdStrike 11% in after-hours trading.
AI stocks could see a strong advance today.
US markets closed slightly lower yesterday even though crude oil prices declined again.
A stronger-than-expected increase in the Personal Consumption Expenditures measure for July showed that inflation has not weakened significantly.
Concerns over Nvidia’s results also weighed on the market.
Several US states settled lawsuits alleging that Meta’s social media platforms were designed to create addiction among children for $18 billion. Florida and New Mexico, however, will continue their cases.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 113.52 points, or 0.21%, on Wednesday to close at 53,463.88.
The S&P 500 declined 1.58 points, or 0.02%, to 7,675.70.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 21.10 points, or 0.08%, to close at 26,130.20.
US futures are trading sharply higher.
Dow futures are up 177 points, or 0.33%. S&P 500 futures have gained 26 points, or 0.34%, while Nasdaq futures are up 158 points, or 0.54%.
In the American Depositary Receipt market in New York, HDFC Bank fell 1.95% during regular trading on Wednesday before gaining 1.86% in after-hours trade to close at $23.60.
ICICI Bank declined 0.79% during regular trading and fell another 1.96% in after-hours trade to close at $29.56.
Infosys dropped 2.83% during regular trading before gaining 0.68% after hours to close at $11.77.
Wipro fell 2.66% during the regular session before advancing 1.64% in after-hours trading to close at $1.86.
European markets rose on Wednesday.
The decline in crude oil prices was the main reason. Indices in Germany, the UK, France and the broader European market all advanced.
Asian markets move in different directions
Asian markets are trading in different directions today.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.55%. With inflation showing no signs of easing, the Bank of Korea raised interest rates.
Japan’s Nikkei declined 0.55%, while Australia’s market fell 0.50%.
Hong Kong and Taiwan are trading higher, while Shanghai is lower.
The Indian market ended lower yesterday after a volatile session, even though crude oil prices declined.
Banks, financial companies and metal stocks recorded significant gains. Information technology, real estate, consumer durables, fast-moving consumer goods and automobile stocks declined.
Foreign investors remained net buyers yesterday, purchasing shares worth ₹502.63 crore in the cash market.
Domestic institutional investors recorded net purchases of ₹6,425.16 crore.
The Sensex fell 183.15 points, or 0.24%, on Wednesday to close at 77,472.94.
The Nifty declined 126.80 points, or 0.52%, to end at 24,207.75.
The Bank Nifty gained 269.55 points, or 0.47%, to close at 57,783.75.
The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 61.70 points, or 0.10%, to close at 64,101.20.
The Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced 160.70 points, or 0.81%, to end at 20,067.30.
More stocks advanced in the broader market.
On the BSE, 2,330 stocks rose and 1,990 declined. On the NSE, 1,952 stocks advanced while 1,537 fell.
Gold, which declined yesterday under profit-booking pressure, moved higher again this morning.
Gold fell 1.40% yesterday to close at $4,594.90 an ounce. It rose to $4,632 an ounce this morning.
In Kerala, the price of 22-carat gold remained unchanged yesterday at ₹1,20,080 per sovereign.
Silver edged lower on Wednesday to close at $68.24 an ounce. It rose above $69 this morning.
Platinum stood at $1,836, palladium at $1,317 and rhodium at $8,400.
International rubber prices fell marginally. Prices were unchanged in Kerala.
In Bangkok, RSS-1 was quoted at $285.10 per quintal and RSS-3 at $281.60.
There was no trading in Kerala yesterday.
Major industrial metals advanced on Wednesday.
Copper gained 0.70% to reach $14,524.50 a tonne.
Aluminium rose 0.57% to $3,238.85.
Zinc and nickel also advanced, while lead and tin declined.
Cocoa closed at $5,829 a tonne.
Cocoa arrivals at export centres in Ivory Coast during the 2025-26 season increased 20.2%, easing concerns over supply shortages.
However, changes in weather conditions are expected to reduce supplies during the season beginning in October.
Arabica coffee fell 4.32% to $3.21 a pound.
There are concerns that El Niño could reduce production.
Palm oil, which climbed above 5,000 Malaysian ringgit a tonne at the end of last week, fell to 4,852 ringgit.
The US Dollar Index rose on Wednesday to close at 99.17. It declined to 99.10 this morning.
The euro fell to $1.1655 and the pound to $1.359.
The Japanese yen weakened to 159.15 against the dollar.
The Chinese yuan remained at 6.72 against the dollar.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.65% on Wednesday.
The Indian currency market was closed on Wednesday.
The rupee had ended with strong gains on Tuesday, with the dollar falling 34 paise to close at ₹95.41.
In the offshore forward market, the dollar was quoted at ₹95.42 this morning.
The Chinese yuan declined to ₹14.19 and the euro to ₹111.23.
Crude oil, which fell below $86 yesterday, later recovered.
The rise followed a statement that Iran had reached an agreement with Oman on sharing revenue from the Strait of Hormuz.
Prices, however, declined again this morning.
Brent crude closed at $87.84 a barrel on Wednesday and fell to $87.17 this morning.
West Texas Intermediate crude stood at $81.59 a barrel.
Cryptocurrencies are trading in different directions.
Bitcoin climbed above $79,000 yesterday before falling below $78,750 this morning.
Ether traded above $2,490 today, while Solana was above $100.75.
