Market Closing Highlights: Sensex ends flat, Nifty below 19350 amid volatility; banks, financials weigh

India's benchmark indices ended flat on Wednesday, giving up gains in the last hour of trade led by losses in banking and financial stocks, and taking cues from global peers which turned cautious ahead of key data releases in the US and India.

The Q2 GDP numbers of the US are expected to be released today while the PCE price index data is due on Thursday, and the non-farm payrolls report is expected on Friday. India's Q1 GDP prints will be released on Thursday.

France's CAC 40 declined 0.1%, while Germany's DAX slipped nearly 0.3%, Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.1% to 7,473.74. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down less than 0.1% at 34,876.00. S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% to 4,501.00.

Back home, the Sensex closed 11 points up at 65,087.25 while the Nifty settled 5 points higher at 19,347.45.

On the Nifty, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Eicher Motors, and Jio Financial Services, while Power Grid Corp., SBI , BPCL, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Hero MotoCorp were the worst hit.

The BSE midcap and smallcap indices ended the day with gains of 0.5% to 0.8%.

prices hovered near three-week highs on Wednesday as investors pared bets of further U.S. interest rate hikes in response to soft economic readings, with more data eyed this week, Reuters reported.

Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,934.84 per ounce, about $3 below its highest level since 7 August hit on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures edged down 0.1% to $1,963.10.

U.S. Treasury yields slipped to three-week lows and the dollar weakened on Tuesday after data showed job openings dropped to the lowest level in nearly 2-1/2 years in July, while consumer confidence fell more than expected in August.

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Wednesday said it was ‘not satisfied’ with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) recent confirmatory order against Zee Entertainment's former MD and CEO, Punit Goenka, that barred him from holding any key managerial position in Zee group companies.

A bench led by Justice Tarun Agarwala said, “We don’t agree with the impugned order. We are not satisfied with eight months. This can’t go on indefinitely. The merger has happened with the consensus of the shareholders. There is public interest involved. If the public says that he should be the director, then it does have a bearing.”

The bench asked Sebi to file a reply in the matter by 4 September and a rejoinder thereafter by Goenka by 7 September. The matter will be heard for final disposal on 8 September.

Inox India Ltd has filed preliminary papers with capital market regulator Sebi to mop up funds through an initial public offering (IPO).

The issue is an Offer For Sale (OFS) of up to 2.21 crore shares by existing shareholders and promoters, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed on Tuesday.

Business improving; trend reversal offers potentiality

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Shares of Gokaldas Exports zoomed 9% in early trade on Wednesday and hit a fresh 52-week high, a day after the company said it has entered into an agreement through its wholly-owned subsidiaries to acquire UAE-based Atraco Group.

The scrip touched a 52-week high of ₹817.70 and 817.20 on NSE and BSE, respectively.

India is preparing to start the auction process for some 100 critical mineral blocks in the next four months, as part of plans to secure domestic supplies of the raw materials needed to fuel the green energy transition, Bloomberg reported.

The blocks are for minerals including nickel, lithium, cobalt and platinum, along with rare earths, Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said in an interview in New Delhi.

“The legal framework has been laid out and the blocks have been identified,” Bharadwaj said. The tender seeking bids is expected to be out by December and auctions may start three months later, he added.

Indian government bond yields were trading lower in the early session on Wednesday as U.S. yields continued their slide decline after weak economic data increased bets that the Federal Reserve's higher policy rates may not sustain for much longer.

The benchmark 7.26% 2033 bond yield was trading at 7.1611% as of 10:15 a.m. IST, after ending the previous session at 7.1880%, a trader with a private bank said.

U.S. yields dropped to three-week lows on Tuesday after data showed job openings in July fell more than expected, to their lowest level since March 2021, with the labour market gradually slowing.

The Labor Department report also showed the number of people quitting their jobs dropped to levels last seen in early 2021, indicating that Americans were becoming less confident in the labour market.

The 10-year yield inched towards 4.10%, more than 25 basis points (bps) lower than the 16-year high levels touched last week. The odds of a rate hike in September have eased further.

In India, traders will keep an eye on the domestic inflation trajectory, especially after the government's move to cut cooking gas prices.

SoftBank’s Svf Growth (Singapore) Pte. Ltd was set to divest a 1.17% stake in Zomato Ltd on 30 August.

At open, Sensex was up 296.51 points at 65,372.33, and the broader Nifty added 85.40 points to 19,428.10. About 1,566 stocks advanced, 390 declined, and 99 were unchanged.

SoftBank’s Svf Growth (Singapore) Pte. Ltd is set to divest a 1.17% stake in Zomato Ltd on 30 August. The deal is expected to fetch ₹940 crore ($114 million) for the Japanese investor.

According to the term sheet reviewed by Mint, on 30 June, Svf Growth held a 3.42% stake in Zomato. This stake was subject to a 12-month lock-in following Blinkit’s acquisition, that concluded on 25 August. The transfer of the stake from SoftBank to Zomato happened in connection with Zomato’s acquisition of the quick commerce company in 2022.

The floor price of the block deal block deal, according to the document, is ₹94 apiece, or a 0.7% discount from Tuesday’s closing price on the BSE. The sale is being managed by Kotak Securities Ltd on behalf of the investors.

Oil prices extended gains on Wednesday after industry data showed a large draw in crude inventories in the U.S., the world's biggest fuel consumer, and as concerns about a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico kept investors on edge, Reuters reported.

Brent crude futures for October rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $85.66 a barrel. The October contract expires on Thursday and the more active November contract was at $85.08 a barrel, up 17 cents.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 24 cents, or 0.3%, to $81.40, logging its fifth session of gains.

Both benchmarks rallied more than a dollar a barrel on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar slid after the prospects of further interest rate hikes eased following softer U.S. job data. A weaker greenback makes dollar-denominated oil less expensive for investors holding other currencies, boosting demand.

NIFTY-50 continues to trade in a sluggish range with minor gains trending in its range of 19,250-19,400 over the past 3 days.

An either side breakout could be expected in the coming days which will give the next directional move from current levels.

RSI is piercing upwards to cross the average line on the hourly and daily charts indicating the higher probability of a upward breakout. 

Highest call OI is at 19,500 strike while on the downside the highest put OI has moved to 19,300 at the money for the monthly expiry

The Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group is in advanced talks to acquire the shuttered Chennai factory of Ford Motor Co. for its planned entry into electric-vehicle (EV) space, two people aware of the matter said.

“Talks started a couple of months earlier and are in an advanced stage now, and the company is speaking to both the state government and Ford,” one of the persons said on condition of anonymity.

Spread over 350 acres, the Ford factory has an annual production capacity of around 200,000 vehicles and 340,000 engines. The plant has been shut since July 2022. The Tamil Nadu government is also keen that it finds a new owner who can restart production. (Read here)

Zomato, Maruti, ONGC, HeroMoto Corp, Lupin are among stocks that will be in focus today.

Asian equities were largely higher on Wednesday as China’s largest banks reportedly prepare to cut interest rates, and investors speculate that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its tightening campaign.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.56%, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.46%. Hang Seng Index jumped 0.95%, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.27%. Shenzhen Composite Index also edged up. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.9%.

Overnight, US shares climbed the most since June and bond yields retreated after job openings fell by more than expected, offering fresh evidence that labor demand is slowing in the world’s largest economy, taking pressure off the Fed. Separate data showed consumer confidence dropped amid souring views on jobs, higher borrowing costs and lingering inflation.

All three major US stock indexes ended the session sharply higher, as investors looked ahead to crucial economic data due later this week that could sway the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions in the coming months.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 292.69 points, or 0.85%, to 34,852.67, the S&P 500 gained 64.32 points, or 1.45%, to 4,497.63 and the Nasdaq Composite added 238.63 points, or 1.74%, to 13,943.76.

European shares had closed at a two-week high with a boost from the mining sector as Beijing's recent policy moves to jump-start China's languid economy fueled demand hopes.