There was no major change in the US-Iran conflict situation, though back-channel talks for a possible agreement continued at various levels. After surging sharply on Tuesday, crude oil prices eased by more than 1 percent on Wednesday morning.
Technology stocks powered Wall Street higher overnight, while the momentum spread across Asia, pushing markets in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to record highs.
Gift Nifty, which closed at 23,890 on Tuesday night in Gift City derivatives trading, slipped to 23,870 on Wednesday morning, indicating a weak opening for Indian equities.
After reopening following a holiday, US markets ended higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing at fresh record highs. The Dow Jones, however, edged lower.
Memory-chip maker Micron Technology surged 19 percent, taking its market capitalisation beyond $1 trillion. Following Micron’s rally, Western Digital rose 8 percent and Seagate Technology gained 4 percent. Other technology counters also advanced strongly.
The Dow Jones index fell 118.02 points (0.23 percent) to close at 50,461.68. The S&P 500 gained 45.65 points (0.61 percent) to end at 7,519.12, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 312.21 points (1.19 percent) to 26,656.18.
US futures were trading marginally higher on Wednesday morning. Dow futures gained 42 points (0.08 percent), S&P futures rose 11 points (0.14 percent), and Nasdaq futures advanced 83 points (0.28 percent).
Among Indian ADRs listed in New York, HDFC Bank closed unchanged at $24.80 after rising 0.24 percent during regular trading hours.
ICICI Bank gained 0.96 percent during market hours and rose another 1.98 percent in after-hours trading to close at $26.75.
Infosys fell 4.66 percent in regular trade before recovering 0.17 percent in extended trading to close at $12.10. Wipro rose 2.49 percent in regular trade and another 0.72 percent in after-hours trading to $2.075.
European markets declined more than 1 percent on Tuesday as hopes of peace in the Iran conflict weakened. London’s FTSE managed to close slightly higher.
Luxury sports car maker Ferrari dropped over 8 percent after its electric vehicle model “Ferrari Luce” received a muted response. Shares of BP fell 4 percent after chairman Albert Manifold was replaced following allegations of misconduct.
Major Asian markets traded higher on Wednesday morning. Japan’s Nikkei index rose 1.5 percent to a record high. Australia’s benchmark index slipped 0.5 percent.
South Korea’s market surged 5 percent to a new record, led by chipmakers. SK Hynix jumped 11 percent, taking its market value beyond $1 trillion.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng opened 0.1 percent higher, while Shanghai slipped marginally.
Fresh attacks in Iran and the spike in crude oil prices dragged Indian equities lower on Tuesday. Benchmark indices closed near the day’s lows, although the broader market remained resilient.
Consumer durables, realty, banking and financial stocks led the decline, while metal stocks posted strong gains. The IT index ended almost unchanged.
Foreign institutional investors turned net sellers again, offloading equities worth ₹2,407.87 crore in the cash market on Tuesday. Domestic institutions bought shares worth ₹1,361.43 crore.
The Sensex declined 479.26 points (0.63 percent) to close at 76,009.70. The Nifty 50 lost 118 points (0.49 percent) to end at 23,913.70.
Bank Nifty dropped 200.75 points (0.36 percent) to 55,092.90. The Midcap 100 index gained 332.30 points (0.54 percent) to 62,298.90, while the Smallcap 100 rose 64.50 points (0.35 percent) to 18,267.20.
Market breadth remained mixed. On the BSE, 2,067 shares advanced while 2,139 declined. On the NSE, 1,645 stocks gained and 1,639 fell.
ONGC reported only marginal growth in fourth-quarter revenue, while net profit rose just 3 percent.
Coal India will sell a 2 percent stake through an offer for sale (OFS) at a floor price of ₹412 per share. The stock had closed at ₹458.30 on Tuesday. Around 12.3 crore shares will be sold on Wednesday.
JK Tyre announced a ₹4,980 crore expansion plan to increase production capacity. The company reported higher revenue and a 50 percent rise in net profit last financial year.
Gold erased all of the previous day’s gains as hopes of peace in Iran faded. After dropping to $4,471 an ounce on Tuesday, gold closed at $4,508.40, down $62.80. On Wednesday morning, gold traded near $4,510.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold prices fell ₹360 per sovereign on Tuesday to ₹1,16,520.
Silver, which closed at $77.09 an ounce on Tuesday, rose to $77.60 on Wednesday morning.
Platinum traded at $1,960, palladium at $1,375 and rhodium at $8,650.
Industrial metals advanced on Tuesday. Copper rose 0.87 percent to $13,544 a tonne, while aluminium gained 0.35 percent to $3,653.45 a tonne, close to its 52-week high of $3,666. Lead, zinc, nickel and tin also moved higher.
Rubber prices rose marginally in international markets. In Bangkok, RSS-3 climbed to $292.25 per quintal on Tuesday, while RSS-1 stood at $295.80.
In Kerala, RSS-4 continued unchanged at ₹25,200.
Cocoa prices rallied sharply in global markets. Cocoa jumped 9.38 percent on Tuesday to $4,152 a tonne, while futures prices also rose strongly.
Heavy rain and flooding in Ivory Coast disrupted cocoa bean collection, while concerns over the El Niño weather pattern affecting production further supported prices.
The US dollar index rose to 99.17 on Tuesday and was trading near 99.13 on Wednesday morning.
The euro weakened to $1.1638 and the pound slipped to $1.3453. The Japanese yen weakened to 159.22 against the dollar, while the Chinese yuan remained steady near 6.79 per dollar.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury eased to 4.481 percent on Wednesday morning.
Higher crude oil prices weakened the rupee on Tuesday. The dollar rose 45 paise to close at ₹95.68. The Reserve Bank reportedly intervened heavily by selling dollars, but pressure on the rupee continues.
In the offshore non-deliverable forward (NDF) market, the dollar briefly rose to ₹96.43 before easing to ₹95.84 on Wednesday morning. The euro strengthened to ₹111.37, while the yuan climbed to ₹14.10.
Persistent tensions between Iran and the US pushed crude oil prices close to $100 a barrel on Tuesday.
Brent crude closed at $99.58 a barrel before easing to around $98.82 on Wednesday morning. WTI crude traded near $92.79.
Cryptocurrencies weakened again. Bitcoin slipped below $76,000 on Wednesday morning. Ether traded below $2,080, while Solana fell below $84.
Sensex: 76,009.70 (-0.63%)
Nifty 50: 23,913.70 (-0.49%)
Bank Nifty: 55,092.90 (-0.36%)
Midcap 100: 62,298.90 (+0.54%)
Smallcap 100: 18,267.20 (+0.35%)
Dow Jones: 50,461.68 (-0.23%)
S&P 500: 7,519.12 (+0.61%)
Nasdaq: 26,656.18 (+1.19%)
Dollar/₹: ₹95.68 (+₹0.45)
Gold (ounce): $4,508.40 (-$62.80)
Gold (sovereign): ₹1,16,520 (-₹360)
Brent crude: $99.58 (+$3.44)
