PremiumIndian indices on Wednesday slipped into the red zone after tracking weakness in global indices as investors remained gripped by uncertainty of inflation and rising interest rates. The Indian rupee fell 19 paise to close at all-time low of 79.04 (provisional) against US dollar. The surge in the dollar has set Asian currencies on course for their worst quarter since 1997 and created a dilemma for central bankers. Shares slipped on Wednesday in Europe and Asia ahead of the latest update on US economic growth, while oil prices were lower. A weaker-than-expected US consumer confidence reading highlighted worsening consumer expectations due to persistently high inflation. Shares fell in Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and South Korea.
Indian indices snapped their four-day gain on Wednesday amid weak global market trends and inflation concerns.
The Sensex lost 150.48 points, or 0.28%, to close at 53,026.97, while Nifty50 declined 51.10 points to end at 15,799.10. Sectorally, energy and power stocks performed well, while IT, financials, FMCG, and banks dragged.
On the 30-stock index, Reliance, NTPC, Sun Pharma, and UltraTech were the top performers, while HUL, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, and Wipro were among the biggest losers.
On the Nifty50 index, ONGC, Reliance, and NTPC registered the biggest gains, while HDFC Life, HUL, and Apollo Hospitals were the biggest laggards.
Gold price in the national capital fell by ₹176 to ₹50,649 per 10 grams on Wednesday, reflecting a decline in international precious metal prices, according to HDFC Securities.
In the previous trade, the yellow metal settled at ₹50,825 per 10 grams.
Silver also fell by ₹443 to ₹59,725 per kg from ₹60,168 per kg in the previous trade.
"Spot gold prices for 24-carat gold in Delhi fell by ₹176 in line with decline in COMEX gold prices," said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities) at HDFC Securities.
In the international market, gold was quoting lower at USD 1,817 per ounce while silver was flat at USD 20.82 per ounce.
India's biggest cement producer, UltraTech Cement, is importing a cargo of Russian coal and paying using Chinese yuan, according to an Indian customs document reviewed by Reuters, a rare payment method that traders say could become more common.
UltraTech is bringing in 157,000 tonnes of coal from Russian producer SUEK that loaded on the bulk carrier MV Mangas from the Russian Far East port of Vanino, the document showed. It cites an invoice dated June 5 that values the cargo at 172,652,900 yuan ($25.81 million).
Two trade sources familiar with the matter said the cargo's sale was arranged by SUEK's Dubai-based unit, adding that other companies have also placed orders for Russian coal using yuan payments.
Vijay Kedia portfolio: On account of Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp announcing strategic partnership with Tata group company Tejas Networks and market buzz about management rejig, the Vijay Kedia-backed company's stock price has been skyrocketing since early morning deals on Wednesday. Tejas Networks share price today ascended more than 7 per cent making intraday high of ₹479.90 per share on NSE. According to stock market experts, in this surge, this telecom hardware company's stock has given fresh breakout at ₹460 apiece levels as well.
India's merchandise exports may well have touched a record high in 2021-22 in value terms, but volumes grew at a slower pace, as per a study by India Ratings showed. Four categories including plastic and rubber articles, gems and jewellery, and optical, medical and surgical instruments reported a decline in exports in volume terms. Outbound shipments form these categories, however, reported a high double-digit growth in volume terms.
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis is slashing around 8,000 jobs worldwide, or just over seven percent of its global workforce, as part of a large restructuring push.
Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) surged more than 2% to ₹2,585 apiece on the BSE in Wednesday's trading session, supporting the benchmark indices. The share price of India's top valued company has given fresh breakout and is poised for more upside, as per analysts.
While steel prices in India have corrected sharply to ₹60- ₹61k/t, domestic demand has also recovered sharply as consumer de-stocking is behind us. Analysts at JPMorgan do not see further declines in the domestic steel market.
Shares skidded in Asia on Wednesday after another broad decline on Wall Street as markets remain gripped by uncertainty over inflation, rising interest rates and the potential for a recession.
US futures edged higher while oil prices fell back.
A weaker-than-expected US consumer confidence reading highlighted worsening consumer expectations due to persistently high inflation.
That “dragged equities lower as sentiment soured for risky assets," Anderson Alves of ActivTrades, said in a commentary.
Investors are awaiting comments later in the day by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and other top central bankers, he said.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9% to 26,804.60 while the Kospi in Seoul fell 0.8% to 2,377.99. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong declined 2.4% to 21,891.43. The Shanghai Composite index sank 1.4% to 3,361.52.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.9% to 6,675.57. Bangkok's SET lost 0.5% and India's Sensex was down 0.3%.
Natural gas prices in Europe increased on Wednesday amid risks that the supply situation could deteriorate as countries race to fill storage sites.
The continent may struggle to tap liquefied natural gas to replace missing Russian supply as demand in Asia increases, elevating competition for cargoes. The UK is also considering cutting off interconnector gas pipelines to European Union countries under an emergency plan, if the supply situation worsens, the Financial Times reported.
What are the key factors behind the recent decline in Zomato’s shares? Its recent Blinkit acquisition has something to do with it
Tata Technologies Ltd on Wednesday said it has joined the Foxconn-initiated MIH Consortium to promote development of sustainable mobility solutions and encourage collaboration within the industry.
The MIH (Mobility In Harmony Consortium) comprises more than 2,300 members in the field of software, hardware, and services.
The goal of this open electric vehicle alliance is to bring the strategic partners together to build the next generation of EV, autonomous driving, and mobility service applications, the global engineering and product development digital services firm said in a statement.
Capital markets regulator Sebi has penalised total 18 entities, including National Stock Exchange (NSE) and its former chiefs Chitra Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain in the 'dark fibre' case.
The regulator has imposed a penalty of ₹7 crore on NSE and ₹5 crore each on Ramkrishna and Narain. Besides, a fine of ₹5 crore has been levied on Subramanian Anand.
Further, Sebi has slapped a fine of ₹6 crore on Way2Wealth Brokers, ₹5 crore on GKN Securities and ₹3 crore on Sampark Infotainment.
They have been asked to pay the total amount of penalty within 45 days, according to a Sebi order passed on Tuesday.
The contentious issues of extension of GST compensation mechanism for states and a highest 28 per cent tax rate on online gaming, casinos and horse racing is slated for discussion at the second day of the GST Council meeting here.
On the first day, the 47th GST Council chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state counterparts, decided to tweak tax rates of some goods and services, including bringing pre-packed and labelled food items under the tax net to check evasion.
Besides, a host of procedural and legal changes, including monthly GST return form, and mechanisms for dealing with high-risk taxpayers were also discussed.
The Day-2 will see deliberations on more vexed issues like compensation to states beyond June 2022, and a Group of Ministers (GoM) report on 28 per cent tax on online gaming, casinos and horse racing.
Sandeep Kumar Gupta, Director for Finance at Indian Oil Corporation, has been picked to head India's largest gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd, the government headhunter said.
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) selected Gupta, 56, for the post of chairman and managing director of GAIL after interviewing 10 candidates, it said in a post-interview notice.
He will replace Manoj Jain, who is scheduled to retire on August 31.
Last year, government has issued a notification regarding Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, in which single use plastic will be banned from 1st July 2022. Given, the rising concern over climatic change and environmental pollution, the extension of this deadline is very unlikely. The ban is on rigid plastic items such as plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, wrapping or packaging films, PVC banners less than 100 micron, straws and stirrers. The industry size of single-use plastics is estimated to be ₹10,000 crore. This has been positive news for paper industry as the opportunity to replace the single use plastic with paper has been huge. However, currently, India lag on require infrastructure to entirely replace the single use plastic. For example, India consume about 6 billion of plastic straws every year which need to replace with paper straw and currently, India does not have domestic manufacturing capacity for this.
Oil prices fell on Wednesday, taking a break after gaining for three sessions, as concerns about the global economy weighed while tight supply curbed losses.
Brent crude futures for August dropped 98 cents, or 0.8%, to $117.00 a barrel by 0647 GMT. The August contract will expire on Thursday and the more-active September contract was at $113.03, down 77 cents, or 0.7%.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid 62 cents, or 0.6%, to $111.14 a barrel.
Both contracts rose more than 2% on Tuesday as concerns over tight supplies due to Western sanctions on Russia outweighed fears of that demand may slow in a potential future recession.
Copper prices slipped on Wednesday, as downbeat U.S. consumer confidence data and prospects of rapid rate hikes to control a surge in inflation fanned fears of a global economic slowdown, impacting metals demand. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.6% at $8,314 a tonne, as of 0702 GMT. Prices of the metal, which is used as a gauge of economic health by investors, has fallen 23% since scaling a peak of $10,845 in March. The most-traded August copper contract in Shanghai ended daytime trading down 0.9% to 63,470 yuan ($9,466.07) a tonne. LME aluminium fell 0.7% to $2,474 a tonne, zinc gained 0.2% to $3,340, lead dipped 0.7% to $1,956.50, nickel shed 1.6% to $22,800, and tin dropped 7.1% to $24,900.
Stocks dropped Wednesday on renewed worries about economic growth as monetary policy tightens in much of the world to fight inflation.
European equities fell for the first time in four days with sentiment also hurt by China remaining committed to its zero-Covid approach. US contracts steadied after a tech-led slide hurt the S&P 500 Tuesday. An Asian equity index snapped a four-day climb, losing more than 1%.
Enterprise communications service provider Route Mobile's board has approved the buyback by the company of its fully paid-up equity shares at a price not exceeding ₹1,700 per equity share (Maximum Buyback Price) and for an aggregate amount not exceeding ₹120 crore (maximum buyback size), from the shareholders of the company, excluding promoters, promoter group and persons who are in control of the company.
Although global growth expectations have moderated recently, the structural demand drivers for commodities like steel remain intact, said Sajjan Jindal, chairman and managing director of JSW Steel Ltd in a message to shareholders in the company’s annual report.
We tweak our FY23/24E earnings lower by ~1%. IGL reported strong results with EBIDTA/PAT of Rs5.0bn (6%Q/Q; PLe Rs3.9bn) and Rs3.6bn (16%Q/Q; PLe Rs2.7bn), due to higher margins given lower spot purchase. Volumes were lower QoQ partly due to pandemic restrictions in January and were at 7.7mscmd (-1%Q/Q). For FY22, EBIDTA/PAT was at Rs18.8bn (+11% 2yr CAGR) and Rs13.1bn (2yr CAGR 7.7%). We believe pick-up in economic activity will drive growth in coming quarters. IGL remains an enviable business model with high volume growth due to geographical expansion and addition of new buses and taxis. Also, fuel economics, shift to private vehicle ownership post pandemic will drive CNG volumes despite excise duty cuts, in our view. Reiterate “BUY" with DCF-based PT of Rs589 (Rs662) as we raise the WACC to 10.3% from 9.7%.
“NYMEX crude trades marginally lower near $111/bbl after recovering nearly 10% from recent lows. Crude oil rose in last few days on supply concerns as G7 members worked on ways to cap Russian crude prices, Libya and Ecuador faced supply disruptions due to political issues and as some major producers like UAE indicated that they were producing near capacity. The momentum is crude oil however came to a halt as disappointing US economic data rekindled demand concerns and as market players positioned for weekly inventory report. Crude may remain choppy ahead of inventory report however lack of any positive surprise may result in some profit taking."
“COMEX gold trades in a range near $1820/oz as support from disappointing US economic data, ban on Russian gold imports by some G7 countries, sharp rebound in crude oil price and improving outlook for Chinese economy is countered by rebound in US dollar index, attempts at recovery by equity markets, continuing ETF outflows and monetary tightening stance of major central banks. Gold remains stuck in the $1800-1850/oz and this may continue amid lack of fresh triggers however with Fed’s emphasis on aggressive tightening, the US dollar may remain supported keeping pressure on gold prices.."
We downgrade MM to HOLD with revised DCF-based target price of Rs1,150 (earlier: Rs1,065), implying 15x FY24E core earnings and discounted value of stake in various listed entities. Under present business visibility, we see limited scope for further earnings upgrades, resulting in limited upside on present valuation levels, post MM having given ~60% return in past three months.
IRCTC share price: Shares of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation rally took a pause today after surging on last three successive sessions. IRCTC share price today opened downside and went to hit intraday low of ₹609.30 per share mark on NSE in early morning deals, logging around 1.50 per cent dip from its Tuesday close of ₹620 per share levels.
Asian stock markets fell on Wednesday, extending Wall Street's overnight losses amid concerns over inflation and the possibility of recession, which also boosted the safe-haven dollar.
Japan's Nikkei index fell 0.98%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.37%, dragged lower by Australian shares, off 0.81%, and Korea's KOSPI, down 1.54%.
Asian shares had ended the Tuesday session on an upward trajectory after China announced an easing of its quarantine requirements for inbound passengers, in what some observers saw as the biggest relaxation so far of its "zero COVID" strategy.
But the positive impact had petered out on Wednesday.
"Inevitably, markets tend to overreact to these sorts of news," said Carlos Casanova, senior economist at UBP in Hong Kong. "In order for that to be sustainable, we really want to see these measures materialise into actual reopening."
Chinese blue chips, which hit a four month high the day before, lost 1.16% while the Hong Kong benchmark fell 1.83%.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures were down 0.57% and FTSE futures lost 0.68% before European markets opened.
The losses in Asia followed a turbulent day on US markets, with the S&P 500 index down more than 2% after data showed US consumer confidence dropped to a 16-month low in June due to fears high inflation could cause the economy to slow significantly in the second half of the year.
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani stepped down on Tuesday from the role of director of the telecoms arm of Reliance Industries in favour of his son Akash, setting the stage for a leadership transition at his energy-to-retail conglomerate.
The change was disclosed in a regulatory filing by Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, which said Mukesh's 30-year-old son and non-executive director Akash was being appointed chairman of the board.
The move comes after Ambani, who ranks among the world's top 10 billionaires, first signaled last year that his children would have significant roles in the family's business empire.
Reliance is "in the process of effecting a momentous leadership transition," he said at an event in December.
Akash's twin sister Isha is a director on the boards of Jio as well as Reliance Retail, which houses the conglomerate's ambitious bets in India's brick-and-mortar space.
The youngest of the siblings, Anant, sits on the board of renewable energy and oil and chemical units of Reliance as a director.
We re-iterate BUY on Century Plyboards (CPBI) as demand continues to remain healthy for wood panel products. Our recent interaction with dealers and the management of Century Plyboards (CPBI) indicates that in the currently ongoing Q1FY23, demand trends are steady across segments like plywood, laminates and MDF on continued pick-up in residential market and higher spend on home improvement post the pandemic. CPBI has taken price increase of ~2-4% in plywood segment and ~3-4% in laminates during Q1FY23, which should enable it to mitigate the raw material price pressures and thus, enable margin to remain steady going ahead. CPBI management had earlier guided for 15-25% revenue growth across segments in FY23. We maintain estimates and our BUY rating on the stock with an unchanged Mar’23E target price of Rs747.
We reiterate our BUY ratings on Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. (IHCL) and Lemon Tree Hotels (LTH). For IHCL, we have a target price of Rs284/share, valuing the stock at 22x Jun’24E EV/EBITDA. For LTH, we have a target price of Rs84/share, valuing the stock at 20x Mar’24E EV/EBITDA.
Shares of Century Plyboards India Ltd have been under pressure recently, after scaling a new 52-week high of ₹749 in March. Concerns about persistent high raw material inflation have weighed on investor sentiment for the stock. So far in this calendar year, the stock has corrected by around 15% on the National Stock Exchange.
After the G-7 leaders agreed to curb Russian oil imports to limit the energy proceeds that Kremlin uses to finance its war machines in Ukraine the country's fuel prices have gone up due to strong demand from Asia. But should India be worried?
Domestic brokerage and research firm IIFL has retained its positive stance on Deepak Fertilisers shares, as at 10x FY23ii P/E, it continues to find valuations attractive. While nitric-acid realisations and spreads are expected to sustain in FY23, TAN spreads may soften. Thus, EPS growth in FY23 is expected to be muted, the brokerage highlighted in a note.
Traders in India’s foreign-exchange market are bracing for more instances of dollar shortages, as record outflows from the nation’s equities and deteriorating external finances bite.
Some Mumbai-based banks saw a dollar crunch last week, as outflows from Indian assets add to the pressure, according to Mizuho Bank Ltd. and IFA Global. The rupee dropped to a record low against the greenback on Wednesday.
Foreign investors have pulled $28 billion from Indian equities this year, while higher oil import costs and a widening current account deficit mean that everybody from investors to companies are demanding dollar for their rupee at the same time. The Reserve Bank of India said last Friday it’s trying to meet the demand through its reserves.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala portfolio: After climbing to life-time high of ₹268.95 on NSE in April 2022, Indian Hotels Company shares are under base building phase. However, the stock has a history of giving strong return to its shareholders in long term. In last 20 years, this Rakesh Jhunjhunwala stock has ascended from ₹13.85 to ₹228.10 apiece levels, giving compound annual growth rate or CAGR of near 15 per cent over this period of two decades.
Isha Ambani is set to be named chairman of the Reliance conglomerate’s retail unit in another sign that her father, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is pushing ahead with a plan for succession in one of Asia’s richest families.
Stock market of India has been under sell-off heat after the outbreak of Russia-Ukraine war. In YTD time, both Nifty and Sensex have corrected more than 10 per cent whereas small-cap index has corrected over 16 per cent in 2022. So, positional investors looking for value picks available at discounted price may get lured towards small-cap stocks for higher returns when the market rebounds.
Domestic equity indices declined substantially in the opening session of Wednesday due to consistent depreciation of rupee, foreign fund outflows, prevailing inflation concerns, among others. Indian currency rupee has been consistently hitting fresh all-time lows.
The renewed rise in global crude oil prices too have a negative bearing on the market sentiments, said analysts.
On Tuesday, the indices closed steady, while they have declined during the majority of the sessions so far in June.
At 10.00 a.m on Wednesday, Sensex was at 52,844.78 points, down 332.67 points or 0.63%, whereas Nifty at 15,749.35 points, down 100.85 points or 0.64%.
The Indian rupee weakened further on Wednesday, touching record lows against the U.S. dollar as losses in domestic shares and other Asian currencies weighed on sentiment.
The partially convertible rupee was trading at 78.94/95 per dollar by 0409 GMT, after touching a lifetime low of 78.95. The currency closed at 78.77 on Tuesday.
Traders said the rupee could weaken towards 79 per dollar during the session, but the central bank is expected to intervene to slow the slide in the currency.
2Wheeler stocks have outperformed Nifty by 11-33% since Feb 2022 . However, stocks have still lagged Nifty by 33-77% since Jan 2018 due to demand downturn and EV concern. While the latter concern will continue until clarity on EV market shares emerges, Jefferies believes stocks are attractive for the impending demand recovery.
Stocks dropped in Asia on Wednesday on renewed worries about a gloomy economic outlook as monetary policy tightens in much of the world to fight high inflation.
An Asian equity index snapped a four-day climb, shedding more than 1%. US futures steadied after a tech-led tumble in the S&P 500 on Tuesday. Institutional portfolio rebalancing may be impacting trading.
China’s bourses were in the red too but the losses were relatively modest. In a surprise move, the nation Tuesday reduced quarantine times for inbound travelers. That hinted at an eventual shift away from a strategy of stamping out Covid that involves great economic cost via lockdowns and travel curbs.
A total of two stocks have been put under the ban for trade on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 under the futures and options (F&O) segment by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities have been put on ban under the F&O segment as they have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL), as per the NSE.
Adani Power shares are one of the multibagger stocks in 2022 that Indian stock market has produced despite global economy reeling under the pressure of inflation and gloomy economy outlook. In YTD time, Adani Power share price has surged from around ₹101 to ₹270 apiece levels on NSE, recording around 165 per cent rise in 2022. However, this multibagger Adani stock has a history of delivering staggering return to its shareholders. In last four years, this Adani group stock has ascended from around ₹16 to ₹270, delivering around 1600 per cent return to its shareholders.
4 stocks to buy or sell today — 29th June
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts downgraded Coinbase Global Inc. to a sell rating as the crypto winter continues to take its toll on the struggling digital currency exchange.
Shares of the firm slumped 11% to $55.96 on Monday, extending their decline this year to 78% as Bitcoin trades at less than half its value from just six months ago. Goldman analyst William Nance cited the “continued downdraft in crypto prices" and the broader drop in activity levels across the industry. Coinbase had fallen 75% this year prior to the downgrade.
The rupee plunged by 48 paise to close at record low of 78.85 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, weighed down by persistent foreign capital outflows and a surge in crude oil prices.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 78.53 against the greenback and finally settled at 78.85, down 48 paise over its previous close.
During the session, the rupee touched an all-time low of 78.8550 against the American currency.
The dollar climbed on Tuesday while the euro faltered after European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde offered no fresh insight into the central bank's policy outlook.
The ECB is widely expected to follow its global peers by raising interest rates in July to try to check soaring inflation though economists are divided on the magnitude of any rate hike.
The euro held below $1.06 after Lagarde said the central bank would move gradually but with the option to act decisively on any deterioration in medium-term inflation, especially if there were signs of a de-anchoring of inflation expectations.
Gold inched down on Wednesday in range-bound trading, as sustained strength in the dollar kept investors away from greenback-priced bullion. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,818.74 per ounce by 0105 GMT. US gold futures also eased 0.1% to $1,820.30. The US dollar was steady after sharp gains on Tuesday, making gold less attractive for buyers holding other currencies.
Traders in India’s foreign-exchange market are bracing for more instances of dollar shortages, as record outflows from the nation’s equities and deteriorating external finances bite.
Some Mumbai-based banks saw a dollar crunch last week, as outflows from Indian assets add to the pressure, according to Mizuho Bank Ltd. and IFA Global. The rupee dropped to a record low against the greenback on Tuesday.
Foreign investors have pulled $28 billion from Indian equities this year, while higher oil import costs and a widening current account deficit mean that everybody from investors to companies are demanding dollar for their rupee at the same time. The Reserve Bank of India said last Friday it’s trying to meet the demand through its reserves.
Oil prices fell on Wednesday after rising in the previous three sessions but losses were limited on the view that global supply tightness will continue as there is limited room for major producers such as Saudi Arabia to boost production.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid 44 cents, or 0.4%, to $111.32 a barrel at 0150 GMT, giving up earlier gains.
Brent crude futures for August dropped 61 cents, or 0.5%, to $117.37 a barrel, also reversing an earlier gain. The August contract will expire on Thursday and the more-active September contract was at $113.14, down 66 cents, or 0.6%.
US consumer confidence slipped to its lowest level in 16 months as persistent inflation and rising interest rates have Americans as pessimistic as they’ve been about the future in almost a decade. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index slipped to 98.7 in June from 103.2 in May and the second straight monthly decline and the lowest level since February 2021. The business research group’s expectations index, based on consumers’ six-month outlook for income, business and labour market conditions, tumbled in June to 66.4 — its lowest level since 2013.
Stocks dropped in Asia on Wednesday on renewed worries about a gloomy economic outlook as monetary policy tightens in much of the world to fight high inflation.
Equities fell in Japan, Australia and South Korea. US futures steadied after the S&P 500 sank and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 shed over 3%. Monthly and quarterly institutional portfolio rebalancing may be impacting trading.
The dollar held gains after rising the most in more than a week in the Wall Street session amid disquiet over evaporating US consumer confidence. Treasuries were steady, leaving the 10-year yield at 3.18%.
The risk of an American recession overshadowed China’s surprise move Tuesday to reduce quarantine times for inbound travelers. The step had lifted markets on hopes of a shift away from a strategy of stamping out Covid that comes with great economic cost via repeated lockdowns.
Oil pushed past $112 a barrel on supply risks. In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin wallowed around $20,000 amid generally poor sentiment.
Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday, extending falls on Wall Street as a gloomy US consumer confidence report offset positive news about China's move to scale back Covid-19 restrictions.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.67 percent, or 235.88 points, at 26,813.59 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.79 percent, or 14.98 points, to 1,892.40.
Australian shares fell on Wednesday, with selling seen across most sub-sectors, as a drop in June US consumer confidence dampened investor sentiment amid a slew of interest-rate hikes globally and recession worries.
Data released on Tuesday morning showed the US consumer confidence index dropping to the lowest since February 2021, with near-term expectations reaching their most pessimistic level in nearly a decade.
That dragged the S&P/ASX 200 index down 1.2% to 6,681.1 by 0053 GMT, and putting it on track to snap a four-day winning streak. The benchmark had added 0.9% in the previous session.
Hong Kong stocks tumbled more than one percent in the opening minutes of trade Wednesday following a sharp sell-off on Wall Street fuelled by concerns about the impact of runaway inflation on the economy.
The Hang Seng Index sank 1.31 percent, or 293.36 points, to 22,125.61.
The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.28 percent, or 9.53 points, to 3,399.68, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange also fell 0.28 percent, or 6.38 points, to 2,237.54.
Wall Street closed sharply lower in a broad sell-off on Tuesday as dire consumer confidence data dampened investor optimism and fueled worries over recession and the looming earnings season.
The S&P and the Nasdaq fell about 2% and 3% respectively, with Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com weighing the heaviest. The blue-chip Dow shed about 1.6%.
"Markets were fine today until the consumer confidence number came out," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. "It was weak and markets immediately began selling off."
With the end of the month and the second quarter two days away, the benchmark S&P 500 is on track for its biggest first-half percentage drop since 1970.
All three indexes are on course to notch two straight quarterly declines for the first time since 2015.
Data released on Tuesday morning showed the Conference Board's consumer confidence index dropping to the lowest it has been since February 2021, with near-term expectations reaching its most pessimistic level in nearly a decade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 491.27 points, or 1.56%, to 30,946.99, the S&P 500 lost 78.56 points, or 2.01%, to 3,821.55 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 343.01 points, or 2.98%, to 11,181.54.
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