Iran’s missile attack last night after a four-day ceasefire has renewed concerns over the war in West Asia. Crude oil prices moved back towards $88 a barrel.
The seriousness of the attack was underlined by the launch of multiple ballistic missiles towards several US bases. All the missiles were intercepted, and there was no retaliatory attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held separate meetings with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday.
Markets are closely watching the monetary policy decision to be announced by the US Federal Reserve today. Most investors expect the federal funds rate to remain in the 3.50% to 3.75% range.
Asian markets are trading in different directions today.
In derivatives trading at GIFT City, GIFT Nifty closed at 24,301.00 on Tuesday night. It fell to 24,224 this morning, indicating that the Indian market could open with gains.
The India Meteorological Department said the deficit in southwest monsoon rainfall narrowed to 15.8% as of July 28.
Under the department’s classification, rainfall that is up to 19% above or below the long-period average is considered normal.
Kerala’s rainfall deficit stood at 37.12%. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have recorded rainfall deficits of more than 20%.
Around 45% of India’s geographical area has received rainfall that is more than 20% below normal.
The continued ceasefire in West Asia and the decline in oil prices supported the major US indices on Tuesday. Semiconductor chip companies, however, remained under pressure.
A semiconductor exchange-traded fund declined for a fourth consecutive session.
Apple briefly reached a market capitalisation of $5 trillion before closing at $4.99 trillion. Nvidia edged higher.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX gained, while Tesla extended its losses. Musk also lost his trillionaire status.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 537.24 points, or 1.03%, to close at 52,747.32 on Tuesday.
The S&P 500 gained 15.60 points, or 0.21%, to close at 7,428.78. The Nasdaq Composite declined 55.17 points, or 0.22%, to close at 24,876.91.
US futures gave up part of their gains after Iran launched ballistic missiles towards US bases.
Dow futures are up 38 points, or 0.07%. S&P 500 futures have gained 15 points, or 0.20%, while Nasdaq futures are up 60 points, or 0.21%.
In the American Depositary Receipt market in New York, HDFC Bank gained 1.55% during regular trading on Tuesday and remained unchanged in after-hours trade at $23.58.
ICICI Bank rose 1.24% during the regular session and remained unchanged in after-hours trading at $30.26.
Infosys surged 5.56% during regular trading before declining 0.24% in after-hours trade to close at $12.32.
Wipro gained 0.52% during the regular session and rose another 0.45% in after-hours trading to close at $1.929.
European markets rose again on Tuesday.
Unilever recorded its strongest June-quarter sales growth in a decade. The company expects growth of close to 5% in the coming quarters.
The stock, which had declined 16% since February, jumped 8% on Tuesday.
Asian markets are moving in different directions today.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.5%, although semiconductor stocks remained under pressure.
South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix reported a threefold increase in net profit, but its shares traded marginally lower.
Japan’s Nikkei declined 0.60%, while Australia’s benchmark index gained 1%.
The sharp decline in Asian markets led to volatile trading in India on Tuesday.
Information technology and real estate stocks recorded strong gains, but the broader market was unable to move higher.
Hindustan Unilever shares plunged 7% after the company’s results fell short of expectations. The fast-moving consumer goods index also declined.
The mid-cap and small-cap indices ended lower.
Foreign investors turned buyers, purchasing shares worth a net ₹755.33 crore in the cash market. Domestic institutional investors were also net buyers, with purchases worth ₹1,664.16 crore.
The Sensex fell 69.86 points, or 0.09%, to close at 76,765.92 on Tuesday. The Nifty declined 10.60 points, or 0.04%, to end at 23,985.35.
The Bank Nifty dropped 331.60 points, or 0.58%, to close at 56,755.60.
The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 47.85 points, or 0.08%, to close at 62,351.50. The Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 41.90 points, or 0.22%, to 19,080.70.
A clear majority of stocks declined in the broader market. On the BSE, 1,528 stocks advanced and 2,740 fell. On the NSE, 1,146 stocks rose while 2,120 declined.
Hindustan Unilever reported a 10% increase in June-quarter revenue. Net profit, however, declined 3.2%, and the results fell short of expectations.
Larsen & Toubro reported a 7% increase in June-quarter revenue and a 14% rise in net profit. New orders received by the company increased 14%. The results were better than market expectations.
Tata Capital’s June-quarter net profit rose 56% as its assets increased 22%.
Birlasoft reported a 51.2% increase in June-quarter net profit.
Gold prices fell by more than 1% on Tuesday as investors awaited the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement.
Prices declined further this morning before recovering.
Gold fell 1.17% on Tuesday to close at $4,029.80 an ounce. It dropped to $4,009 this morning before recovering to $4,018.
In Kerala, the price of 22-carat gold fell by ₹1,240 per sovereign on Tuesday to ₹1,05,720.
Silver declined on Tuesday to close at $57.45 an ounce. It fell further to $57.32 this morning.
Platinum stood at $1,604, palladium at $1,251 and rhodium at $7,925.
Industrial metals fell on Tuesday amid concerns that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates.
Copper declined 1.20% to $13,643.45 a tonne. Aluminium fell 1.17% to close at $3,143.10.
Zinc, tin, nickel and lead also declined.
Cocoa prices gained 1.98% on Tuesday to reach $5,201 a tonne.
The International Cocoa Organization expects production in Indonesia to increase despite the El Niño weather phenomenon. Production in West Africa is expected to decline.
Arabica coffee surged 4.91% to $3.40 a pound. Coffee inventories remain at their lowest level since March 2024.
The US Dollar Index declined on Tuesday to close at 101.42. It fell further to 101.37 this morning.
The euro rose to $1.1388, while the pound declined to $1.3285.
The Japanese yen stood at 163.72 against the dollar. The Chinese yuan remained at 6.77 to the dollar.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.618% this morning after falling to 4.604% on Tuesday.
The Indian rupee recorded strong gains in early trading on Tuesday, with the dollar falling to ₹95.63.
The dollar later recovered as demand increased and closed at ₹95.86.
In the offshore non-deliverable forward market, the dollar was quoted at ₹95.60 this morning. The Chinese yuan stood at ₹14.16 and the euro at ₹109.17.
Crude oil prices, which had fallen sharply again on Tuesday, began to recover following Iran’s missile attack.
Brent crude declined 4.3% on Tuesday to close at $84.09 a barrel. It jumped 4.5% this morning to $87.78.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose to $82.56 a barrel.
Cryptocurrencies continue to trade at lower levels.
Bitcoin fell below $63,950 this morning. Ether remained below $1,920, while Solana traded below $74.
