Indian stock market: Weak global market cues are expected to cause the local equities market to open lower on Wednesday, continuing the downward trend.
While the US stock market ended the night in mixed territory, the Asian markets saw lower trading.
For more clues on Wednesday, investors will be watching the US Federal Reserve meeting minutes and India’s manufacturing PMI data.
The Sensex and Nifty 50 domestic equity indices ended Tuesday’s trading session lower due to worries about growing geopolitical tensions and a sharp increase in crude oil prices.
The Nifty 50 finished 76.10 points, or 0.35%, lower at 21,665.80, while the Sensex dropped 379.46 points, or 0.53%, to close at 71,892.48.
“Markets are booking profits in January, following two months of sharp gains.” The Nifty rose 5% in November and 8% in December. Investors are also cautious ahead of the release of the FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday, as well as rising tensions in the Red Sea,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Here are today’s key global market cues for the Sensex:
Asian Economies
Asian markets fell on Wednesday, mirroring overnight losses on Wall Street indices.
Japan’s stock exchanges are closed until January 4. The Kospi in South Korea fell 1.36%, while the Kosdaq fell 1%. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index pointed to a lower open. The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia fell 1%.
Nifty Gift
Gift Nifty was trading around 21,680, compared to the previous close of Nifty futures at 21,754, indicating a weak start for the Indian stock market today.
The US Stock Exchange
The US stock market indices finished mostly lower on Tuesday, the first trading day of 2024, dragged down by selling in technology stocks as Treasury yields rose.
The S&P 500 fell 27 points, or 0.57%, to 4,742.83, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 245.41 points, or 1.63%, to 14,765.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 37,715.04, up 25.5 points, or 0.07%.
Apple shares fell 3.6% after Barclays downgraded the tech giant to “underweight” due to weakening iPhone demand. Nvidia, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft all experienced declines ranging from 1.4% to 2.7%.
Manufacturing PMI in the United States
The final reading of US manufacturing activity for December from S&P Global was 47.9, down from 49.4 in November and below expectations of 48.2.
Treasury Yields in the United States
Treasury yields in the United States rose to two-week highs as expectations for rate cuts in 2024 fell.
The yield on 10-year notes rose to a two-week high of 3.937% before falling slightly to 3.937%.
Oil Costs
Crude oil prices finished lower as concerns about supply disruptions in the Red Sea subsided.
Brent crude finished at $75.89 per barrel, down $1.15 or 1.5%, while US West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $70.38 per barrel, down $1.27 or 1.8%.
