Markets remained cautious as geopolitical tensions in West Asia continued despite the absence of fresh military strikes. Slower shipping movement through the Strait of Hormuz pushed crude oil prices slightly higher, while gold slipped amid concerns that persistent inflation could prompt the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again. Asian markets traded mixed, and US futures were lower.
Gift Nifty closed at 23,985.50 in overnight derivatives trading at GIFT City on Tuesday. It climbed to 24,040 in early trade before slipping to around 23,970, indicating a weak start for Indian equities.
India received 39.8 percent less rainfall than normal during June, according to the India Meteorological Department. Against the normal rainfall of 165.3 mm, the country received only 99.5 mm.
The IMD expects below-normal rainfall in July as well. While the first week is likely to see good rainfall, precipitation is expected to weaken thereafter, with July rainfall projected at around 94 percent of the long-term average.
This was India's sixth weakest June rainfall since 1901. More than 76 percent of the country's land area recorded a rainfall deficit exceeding 20 percent. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Haryana experienced particularly weak rainfall, with Saurashtra in Gujarat and Vidarbha in Maharashtra reporting deficits of over 90 percent.
The weak monsoon has also delayed kharif sowing. Agriculture Ministry data show that sowing was 23 percent lower as of June 25 compared with last year. Only 16.5 percent of the normal cropped area had been covered, against 21 percent a year earlier.
Major US indices ended the first half of the calendar year with solid gains.
Dow Jones gained 8.9 percent in the first half.
S&P 500 advanced 9.6 percent.
Nasdaq rose 12.8 percent.
Russell 2000 surged 22 percent.
The Dow recorded its strongest first-half performance since 2021, while the Russell 2000 posted its best half-year since 1991, driven by continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks.
Nike fell 2.5 percent despite reporting better-than-expected results, as China sales declined 12 percent. SpaceX shares gained more than 4 percent.
On Tuesday:
Dow Jones rose 136.46 points (0.26 percent) to 52,319.20.
S&P 500 gained 58.93 points (0.79 percent) to 7,499.36.
Nasdaq Composite climbed 393.58 points (1.52 percent) to 26,213.72.
Indian ADRs ended mixed.
HDFC Bank closed unchanged at $25.83 after falling 0.31 percent during regular trading.
ICICI Bank finished unchanged at $29.03 after a 1.12 percent decline.
Infosys recovered in after-hours trading to close at $10.52.
Wipro ended unchanged at $2.25 after rising 3.69 percent during regular trading.
US futures were trading in the red this morning.
Dow futures down 103 points (0.20 percent).
S&P 500 futures down 12 points (0.16 percent).
Nasdaq futures down 41 points (0.14 percent).
European markets closed mixed on Tuesday amid geopolitical concerns and higher oil prices.
Germany's benchmark gained 1.5 percent and the pan-European STOXX 600 added 1 percent, while the French market declined. London ended marginally higher.
Asian markets were moving in different directions.
South Korea's benchmark fell around 2 percent. Japan gained 1.2 percent on expectations that a weaker yen would support exporters. Australia's market was down 0.35 percent, while Taiwan surged about 2.5 percent. Hong Kong remained closed for a holiday, and Shanghai opened lower.
Indian equities opened higher but lost momentum during the session to end modestly lower. The broader market, however, outperformed.
Heavy selling in IT stocks weighed on benchmark indices. TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and LTIMindtree declined by around 3 percent. Realty, consumer durables, defence and tourism stocks recorded gains.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers, offloading equities worth ₹2,556.75 crore on Tuesday. Domestic institutional investors provided strong support with net purchases of ₹6,842.34 crore.
Tuesday's closing levels:
Sensex fell 249.70 points (0.33 percent) to 76,478.67.
Nifty 50 declined 80.50 points (0.34 percent) to 23,865.75.
Bank Nifty lost 184.45 points (0.32 percent) to 57,542.90.
Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.37 percent.
Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 1.02 percent.
Market breadth remained positive. On the BSE, 2,248 stocks advanced while 1,998 declined. On the NSE, 1,902 stocks gained against 1,374 losers.
Federal Bank touched a record high of ₹331.80 before closing 1.54 percent higher at ₹329.05. CSB Bank gained 3.19 percent, while Dhanlaxmi Bank and South Indian Bank ended lower.
Defence stocks rallied strongly. Cochin Shipyard jumped 6.05 percent, Paras Defence 9.22 percent, Solar Industries 4.98 percent, Apollo Micro Systems 4.15 percent and Dynamatic Technologies 4.56 percent.
Kotak Mahindra Bank signed an agreement to acquire Deutsche Bank's India retail banking, private banking and wealth management businesses for ₹281.7 crore. The acquisition will add loans worth ₹29,000 crore, deposits of ₹16,000 crore, around 150,000 customers and nearly 1,000 employees.
Gold slipped below the $4,000-an-ounce mark again after briefly recovering on Tuesday. It had closed at $4,008.70 an ounce but fell to around $3,977 in early trade today.
Expectations that the US Federal Reserve may raise interest rates further continue to pressure bullion prices, as higher yields typically shift investor preference towards fixed-income assets.
A survey by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum found that 61 percent of central banks expect gold to trade between $5,000 and $6,000 an ounce by June next year, with most planning to increase their gold reserves.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold closed at ₹1,04,160 per sovereign after recovering from an earlier fall, although prices are expected to soften again today.
Silver eased to $58.55 an ounce this morning. Platinum traded at $1,537, palladium at $1,190 and rhodium at $7,200.
Industrial metals continued to trade mixed.
Copper rose 0.29 percent to $13,340.60 per tonne, while aluminium slipped 0.17 percent to $3,120.70. Zinc and tin gained, whereas lead and nickel declined.
International rubber prices extended their decline on Tuesday.
In Bangkok, RSS-1 was quoted at $279.60 per quintal and RSS-3 at $276.20. Kerala's RSS-4 variety remained unchanged at ₹26,800 per quintal.
Cocoa rose 1.95 percent to $5,064 per tonne. Coffee surged 8.77 percent to $3.02 per pound.
The US Dollar Index closed at 101.19 on Tuesday and strengthened further to 101.30 this morning.
The euro weakened to $1.1404, while the pound slipped to $1.3238. The Japanese yen fell to a record 162.77 per dollar. China's yuan remained steady at 6.79 per dollar.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury rose to 4.467 percent.
The rupee ended weaker on Tuesday after a volatile session.
The dollar gained 12 paise to close at ₹94.66. In the offshore non-deliverable forward market, the dollar was trading around ₹94.63 this morning.
Crude oil prices rose as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed and US crude inventories continued to decline.
Brent crude traded around $73.32 a barrel, while WTI was at $69.91.
Cryptocurrencies came under fresh selling pressure.
Bitcoin fell more than 3.5 percent to below $58,200. Ether slipped below $1,570 and Solana traded below $73.
Sensex: 76,478.67 (-0.33%)
Nifty 50: 23,865.75 (-0.34%)
Bank Nifty: 57,542.90 (-0.32%)
Nifty Midcap 100: 61,797.70 (+0.37%)
Nifty Smallcap 100: 18,863.10 (+1.02%)
Dow Jones: 52,319.20 (+0.26%)
S&P 500: 7,499.36 (+0.79%)
Nasdaq Composite: 26,213.72 (+1.52%)
US Dollar/₹: ₹94.66 (+₹0.12)
Gold (spot): $4,008.70/oz (-$8.90)
Gold (22K, sovereign): ₹1,04,160 (+₹80)
Brent crude: $72.95/barrel (-$0.20)
