Gift Nifty, Chinese stocks point to a muted open for Nifty and Sensex on Wednesday

• India’s Nifty and Sensex set for a subdued open after closing in the green for the sixth straight day on Tuesday.  
• Nifty refreshed an all-time high above 22,200, Sensex settled above 73,000.
• Nifty and Sensex await the Fed and RBI Minutes for fresh trading impulse.  

The Sensex 30 and Nifty 50, India’s key benchmark indices, are bracing for a subdued start to Wednesday, having rebounded on Tuesday.

Small losses in the Gift Nifty index and mixed Chinese stocks indicate a flattish to lower open for the Indian indices. Nifty and Sensex extended the bullish momentum on Tuesday, in the run-up to te release of the Minutes of the US Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy meetings.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 ended 0.34% higher on the day at 22,196.95 while the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex 30 finished at 73,057.40, up 0.48%.  

The US stock markets settled lower on Tuesday, as traders returned from the Presidents’ Day holiday on Monday.

Stock market news

• India’s Nifty and Sensex regained upside traction, helped by a rally in private bank stocks and utility sector stocks while ignoring a sell-off in the auto and technology stocks.
• Power Grid Corp, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank and NTPC were among the major gainers on the Nifty on Tuesday while losers included Coal India, HeroMoto Corp, Bajaj Auto, TCS and Eicher Motors.
• Among the corporate news, Coal India shares fell 5% after fall in e-auction premium.
• Shares of Whirlpool of India declined after the report of promoter off-loading 24% stake.
• Vibhor Steel Tubes debuted on bourses on February 20.
• On Monday, Bajaj Auto announced February 29 as the record date for a proposed buyback plan amounting to Rs 4,000 crore, at Rs 10,000 per share.
• Shares of Paisalo Digital rallied 15% to hit a record high of Rs 164 on Monday, surging 63% in the past month on promoter buying and strong December quarter (Q3FY24) earnings. 
• Novartis India share price surges nearly 11% to hit a 52-week high as Novartis AG announces sale plans for the company.
• People’s Bank of China (PBoC) cut the five-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) by a record 25 bps from 4.20% to 3.95%. The PBOC rate cut failed to excite Asian traders.
• India’s trade data for January showed Thursday a shrinking Trade Deficit of $17.49 billion.
• US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) data came in hotter-than-expected and helped push back the market’s expectations of a Fed rate cut from March to June. Markets are currently pricing a 77% chance of a cut in June, the CME Group’s Fed Watch Tool shows.
• Attention now turns toward the Minutes of the Fed January meeting and American tech major Nvidia Earnings report due on Wednesday, as the Indian economic calendar remains devoid of any top-tier data release until Thursday’s RBI Minutes.