Indian stock market: The domestic equity market indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open lower on Wednesday tracking weakness in global peers.
Asian markets traded lower, while the US stock market ended in the red overnight as investors focused on Alphabet and Tesla Q2 results
On Tuesday, the Indian stock market benchmark indices ended with minor losses after reversing from the steep fall witnessed during the Budget 2024 announcements.
The Sensex fell 73.04 points, or 0.09%, to close at 80,429.04, while the Nifty 50 settled 30.20 points, or 0.12%, lower at 24,479.05.
“The Union Budget focused on employment and skilling as a theme, along with its continued investment in infrastructure. We believe the long-term fundamentals of India remain strong with the government walking the fiscal prudence path and reducing the target to 4.9% in FY25 and further to 4.5% in FY26,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:
Asian markets traded lower on Wednesday following overnight losses on Wall Street.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat, while the Topix fell 0.23%. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.7% lower, and the Kosdaq was down marginally. Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures indicated a flat opening.
Gift Nifty was trading around 24,405 level, a discount of nearly 45 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a negative start for the Indian stock market indices.
US stock market ended marginally lower on Tuesday as investors focused on the latest earnings from Alphabet and Tesla.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 57.35 points, or 0.14%, to 40,358.09, while the S&P 500 eased 8.67 points, or 0.16%, to 5,555.74. The Nasdaq Composite ended 10.22 points, or 0.06%, lower at 17,997.35.
Tesla share price dropped 2%, with Alphabet shares rose 0.1%. Apple, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Amazon shares gained between 0.3% and 2.1%. Tesla shares declined 8% in after-hours trade.
United Parcel Service stock price slumped 12.1%, General Motors shares declined 6.4%, while Comcast shares dipped 2.6% and NXP Semiconductors slumped 7.6%. Spotify shares jumped 12% and Coca-Cola share price rose 0.3%.
Japan’s factory activity contracted slightly in July, while the service sector expanded, helping overall activity in Japan’s private sector return to growth in July, a business survey showed.
The au Jibun Bank flash Japan manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipped to 49.2 in July from 50.0 in June, Reuters reported. The au Jibun Bank flash services PMI rose to 53.9 in July, the highest in three months, swinging from 49.4 in June.
The au Jibun Bank flash Japan composite PMI, which combines both manufacturing and service sector activity, rose to 52.6 in July from 49.7 in June.
Tesla share price fell 8% in extended trade after the electric vehicle maker reported its lowest profit margin in more than five years.
Tesla’s net income was $1.48 billion in the second quarter, compared with $2.70 billion a year ago, with adjusted earnings of 52 cents per share missing the Wall Street consensus of 62 cents, as calculated by LSEG, Reuters reported. The company reported Q2 revenue of $25.50 billion for the quarter, slightly ahead of last year and analyst targets.
Tesla’s Q2 automotive gross margin to 14.6% versus analysts’ estimates of 16.3%
Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday after several days of decline amid falling US crude inventories.
Brent crude futures for September rose 0.54% to $81.45 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September gained 0.49% to $77.34 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index was close to a two-week high at 104.5. Dollar/yen fell nearly 1% to 155.55 overnight and traded nearby at 155.78 early in the Asia session, Reuters reported. China’s yuan was steady at 7.2909 in offshore trade. The euro held at $1.0848 and sterling bought $1.2901.
Gold rates were flat in early Asian trade ahead of US economic data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s rate-cut timeline.
Spot gold was little changed at $2,409.66 per ounce, while US gold futures rose 0.1% to $2,410.50.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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