The Indian stock market is now moving into the September quarter results season, with corporate earnings set to determine the next direction of market sentiment. As trading hours conclude today, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will announce its quarterly results. Brokerage houses expect a marginal increase in revenue but anticipate a slight dip in net profit compared to the previous quarter. The outlook for other IT majors is also similar.
On the global front, a breakthrough deal to exchange hostages and end the Gaza conflict has brought some relief to geopolitical tensions, resulting in a modest decline in crude oil prices. Gold continues to hover above the $4,000 mark per ounce, having briefly fallen to that level before rebounding.
Technology-driven gains in the United States are expected to influence Indian equities positively today, with most Asian markets trading higher. The GIFT Nifty closed at 25,123.00 on Tuesday night and rose to 25,161 in early trade, indicating a positive start for Indian indices.
European markets rose after the European Union proposed restrictions on duty-free steel imports and considered imposing tariffs, mainly targeting imports from the US. However, this move could hurt British steel exports. Steelmakers with EU-based plants, including ArcelorMittal, SSAB, and Thyssenkrupp, gained, while Tata Steel, which operates in the UK, could face setbacks.
As steel prices rise, automakers are likely to see higher production costs, pulling their shares down. BMW fell 8.3%. Meanwhile, the Bank of England warned that the excessive hype surrounding artificial intelligence could eventually trigger a market correction.
A strong performance by technology stocks pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to record highs, while the Dow Jones ended flat after a volatile session. OpenAI’s plan to acquire a 10% stake in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) lifted AMD shares by 43% over the past week, including an 11.4% gain yesterday. Nvidia shares rose 2% after CEO Jensen Huang forecasted continued demand for AI-powered computers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped marginally by 1.20 points (0.00%) to close at 46,601.78. The S&P 500 gained 39.13 points (0.58%) to finish at 6,753.72, and the Nasdaq Composite surged 255.02 points (1.12%) to end at 23,043.38.
In early US futures trading this morning, the Dow rose 0.06%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.04% and 0.03%, respectively.
Across Asia, markets are in rally mode. Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.25% in morning trade, while Chinese and Hong Kong markets opened higher after a week-long holiday. Australia’s benchmark index rose by half a percent.
Japan’s SoftBank announced plans to acquire the robotics division of Swiss engineering giant ABB for $5.4 billion. The deal aims to merge SoftBank’s super-AI systems with robotics, creating technology “10,000 times smarter than humans.” Its British chip-design subsidiary Graphcore also announced a $1.3 billion research centre in India. SoftBank shares soared 13%.
Indian equities edged lower on Wednesday as investors awaited quarterly results. Major indices ended with losses of around 0.5%, though IT stocks cushioned the fall with over 1.5% gains. Consumer durables also rose, while sectors like realty, auto, oil, PSU banks, pharma, media, and defence declined. Gold-linked jewellery stocks, including Titan, rallied following gold’s surge.
The Nifty 50 fell 62.15 points (0.25%) to 25,046.15, while the Sensex lost 153.16 points (0.19%) to close at 81,773.66. Bank Nifty dropped 221.10 points (0.39%) to 56,018.25. The Midcap 100 index gained 0.73%, while the Smallcap 100 fell 0.52%.
Market breadth remained negative, with 1,670 advancing stocks against 2,516 declines on the BSE. On the NSE, 1,248 shares rose and 1,863 fell. Foreign investors bought equities worth ₹81.28 crore, while domestic funds purchased ₹329.96 crore.
Though Nifty ended lower, staying above 25,000 boosted investor confidence. Analysts see support at 25,000 and 24,965, with resistance near 25,150–25,200.
Gold prices briefly corrected after surpassing $4,000 per ounce. In New York, spot gold hit $4,060 before closing at $4,042.10. In early Asian trade, it dipped to $4,000.70 but rebounded to $4,026. December futures touched $4,070.
Experts warn of a possible 5–10% correction in the coming days, citing the Gaza truce and the end of the US government shutdown as possible triggers. Despite that, gold has surged 54% this year, with Indian 24-carat gold rising 60% to ₹1,22,829 per 10 grams.
The market consensus remains bullish, with many predicting prices between $4,400 and $4,600 by December and a possible $5,000 target in 2026. Money-market funds are increasingly moving into gold and gold ETFs.
According to the World Gold Council, global gold ETF holdings reached $47,200 crore ($47.2 billion) by September-end, amounting to 3,838 tonnes — just 2% below the record 3,929 tonnes in November 2020.
In India, gold ETF investments have crossed $1,000 crore ($88,800 crore). September saw inflows of $90.2 crore, with total 2025 inflows reaching $218 crore so far. Kerala’s 22-carat gold price jumped ₹1,400 in two sessions to ₹90,880 per sovereign, though a mild correction is likely today. Silver touched $48.78 per ounce, with expectations of hitting $50 soon.
Industrial metals continued their upward streak, with copper up 0.89% at $10,737.60 per tonne and aluminium up 0.49% at $2,755.75. Tin, nickel, and lead declined, while zinc edged higher. Rubber fell 0.53% to 170.40 cents per kg, while cocoa slid 3.6% to $5,956.29 per tonne — the lowest in two years. Coffee rose 2.29%, tea prices fell, and palm oil climbed 1.65%.
The dollar index closed Wednesday at 98.92 before easing to 98.75 this morning. The euro stood at $1.1631, the pound at $1.3404, and the yen weakened to 152.61 per dollar. US 10-year Treasury yields fell to 4.113%. The Indian rupee closed weaker at a record ₹88.80 per dollar, while China’s yuan remained stable at 7.12 per dollar.
Crude oil rose above $66 per barrel before easing. Brent touched $66.25 before closing at $65.72 and edged up to $65.92 this morning. WTI traded at $62.15, while Murban crude was at $65.80. Natural gas prices were marginally lower.
Cryptocurrencies climbed on Wednesday, with Bitcoin reaching $122,500, Ether rising to $4,475, and Solana hitting $230.
