FX.co ★ Sensex, Nifty Set To Follow Asian Peers Lower Ahead Of China Trade Data

Indian stocks are expected to open in a subdued manner this Thursday, with potential fluctuations due to foreign investor selling activities, as well as the impending Nifty weekly expiry. On Wednesday, Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares valued at a net Rs 6,669.10 crore, whereas Domestic institutional investors (DII) invested in shares amounting to a net Rs 5,928.81 crore, as per provisional data available on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation shares may draw eyes today as they prepare to release their quarterly earnings reports. Additionally, news of potential bonus issue proposals to be considered in board meetings add to their spotlight.

State Bank of India (SBI) is also set to announce its fourth quarter earnings later today. On a similar note, Larsen & Toubro reported a final dividend of Rs. 28 per share after its Q4 net profit surpassed estimates.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty concluded Wednesday’s fluctuating session little changed, while the rupee kept steady at 83.51 against the American dollar.

Asian markets reported a largely downward trend this morning, with stocks from China and Hong Kong showing resilience, possibly in anticipation of Chinese trade data release later today.

The Dollar and gold markets remained stable, while oil marked an increase from last night as investors reacted to mixed inventory data and waited for more definitive news on a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Evening trading in the U.S. ended mixed as treasury yields increased following a 10-year notes auction. The Dow rose slightly by 0.4% to prolong its winning spree to six sessions and closed above 39,000 points for the first time in five weeks. Conversely, the S&P 500 saw a nominal dip and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined by 0.2%.

Wednesday also witnessed European stocks rising for the fourth consecutive session as Sweden's central bank performed its first interest rate cut in eight years, also hinting at two future rate cuts in the second half of the year. The pan European STOXX 600 made a 0.3% gain. Similarly, Germany's DAX edged up by 0.4%, France's CAC 40 increased by 0.7%, and the UK's FTSE 100 rose by half a percent.