Losses on the 30-share Sensex were led by Tata Consultancy Services, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma and Hindustan Unilever, which fell between 1.5% and 2% each.Shares of state-owned lenders defied broader weakness, with the PSU banking index rising 2.1% after strong earnings data. Union Bank of India rose 7.9% and Indian Overseas Bank rose 2.2% after higher quarterly profits.
Still, declines in heavyweight HDFC Bank, down 1.3%, and IT sector Tata Consultancy Services, down 2.3%, weighed on the major indices.
In addition, Tata Elxsi fell 5% after a decline in quarterly profit.
Expert views
Domestic markets remained cautious amid continued uncertainty over the India-US trade deal, with financial institutions remaining risk averse, said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, adding that the restart of negotiations this week has raised new hopes. “Metals led the rally as prices rose on expectations of US rate cuts, supported by softer inflation data and demand for safe havens amid geopolitical tensions. Broader markets performed well on selective buying in the mid- and small-cap space. Global equities traded mixed as investors awaited the US December PPI and major bank earnings. Looking ahead, the focus will shift to Q3 FY26 earnings, with initial IT results largely in were in line with expectations, although results were affected by one-off incidents.” costs,” said Nair.
Global markets
Asian markets rose to new highs on Wednesday, led by a rally in Japanese shares, as investors positioned for a possible election that could lead to additional fiscal stimulus. Meanwhile, the currency markets became restless due to renewed questions about the independence of the central banks and the favorable US inflation figures.
MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific index rose 0.5% to a record. U.S. stock futures fell 0.19%, while European futures rose about 0.1%, marking a subdued start for Western markets.
Chinese shares reversed earlier gains to trade 0.15% lower after domestic exchanges unexpectedly tightened margin requirements in a bid to rein in an overheated stock market.
In commodities, precious metals rose, with gold rising more than 1% to $4,639.42 an ounce and silver rising almost 5% to above $90 an ounce, both hitting record highs.
Rough impact
Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday, pausing a four-day rally as renewed Venezuelan exports and a rise in US crude inventories offset concerns that escalating unrest in Iran could disrupt supplies.
Brent crude fell 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $65.36 a barrel at mid-morning in London, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $61.05 a barrel.
Rupee vs dollar
The Indian rupee gave up early gains to end modestly weaker on Wednesday, falling 6 paise to 90.29 per dollar as likely central bank support was offset by a firmer US currency, foreign portfolio outflows and continued high oil prices.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was little changed at 99.184, after rising 0.2% in the previous session.
(with input from agencies)
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