Stock Market Today: Nifty Ends At Record High After One-Day Drop As ITC, RIL Lead

Overseas investors turned net sellers of Indian equities on Thursday after a day of buying.

• The local currency strengthened 12 paise to close at 82.85 against the U.S. Dollar.

• It closed at 82.97 on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

India's benchmark share indices recouped losses to end higher on Thursday with the NSE Nifty Index tasting fresh highs for a fourth consecutive session.

Rise in ITC Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd supported the benchmark indices' rally.

The NSE Nifty 50 ended 162.40 points or 0.74% higher at 22,217.45, and the S&P BSE Sensex settled 535.15 points or 0.74% up at 73,158.24.

The NSE Nifty 50 surged 0.9% or 197.45 points to a record high of 22,252.50 during the last leg of the trade.

Intraday, the NSE Nifty 50 declined 0.82% to 21,875.25, and the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.75% to 72,081.36.

ITC Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Infosys Ltd., and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. added positively to the benchmark index.

HDFC Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank Ltd., and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. limited gains to the benchmark index.

On NSE, 10 sectors out of 12 ended in positive, and two sectors ended in negative. The Nifty Index rose over 1% to become the best performer among sectoral indices, and the Nifty Bank index fell the most among sectoral indices.

Broader markets rose in line with the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Midcap index rose 0.92%, and the S&P BSE Smallcap gained 0.54% .

On BSE, 19 out of 20 sectors ended higher and one declined. The S&P BSE Auto index rose the most among sectoral index, and the S&P BSE BANKEX index declined the most among peers.

Market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers. Around 2,101 stocks rose, 1,714 stocks declined, and 118 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.

• Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd.'s board approved Rs 3,041 crore capital outlay for FY25.

• About Rs 1,138 crore will be allocated for new lignite projects, and Rs 629 crore to be allocated to expedite operationalisation of allotted coal blocks in Odisha.

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of ABB India Ltd. hit an all-time high on Thursday after brokerages said that the company is on course to post a sustained earnings annually over the long term.

Led by structural trends around electrification, industrial automation, urban infrastructure, and constant order flows, ABB is well on course to sustain earnings CAGR over the medium to long term, UBS said in a Feb. 21 note.

The brokerage has a 'buy' rating on ABB with a 12-month price target of Rs 5,380 per share, compared to the current price of Rs 5,376 apiece.

The company's management observes a notable shift in customers’ preference towards reliability over price sensitivity, which is leading to increased demand for high-quality products and services, Nomura said in its note on Wednesday.

The brokerage also has a 'buy' rating on the stock, with a target price of Rs 5,740 per share.

However, Kotak Institutional Equities noted that the company reported a weak sequentially flat execution, with all segments beyond electrification declining quarter-on-quarter, despite the fourth quarter seasonality.

Kotak has a cautious sectoral view, with a "reduce" call and a target price of Rs 4,600 apiece. This implies a downside of 7%.

Shares of the electrification and automation major rose as much as 8.53% before paring gains to trade 7.85% higher at 1:53 a.m., compared to a 0.06% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50.

The stock has risen 64% in the past 12 months. The total traded volume so far in the day stood at 14 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 73.70.

Of the 29 analysts tracking the company, 16 maintain a 'buy' rating, eight recommend a 'hold' and five suggest a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analysts' price targets implies a potential downside of 4.2%.

Earnings are holding up well and there is an expectation of a 14% compound annual growth rate in earnings for the Nifty for a couple of years, according to Surendra Goyal, head of Citi Research India.

Goyal said the overall sentiment is upbeat and the third-quarter earnings support the future outlook. "When we talk to investors, valuations are something that comes (up) in talk. The premium to other emerging markets is significant," he told NDTV Profit in an interview.

Read more here.

• The broader markets mirrored the larger peers, with the BSE MidCap advancing 0.79% and the SmallCap rising 0.54%.

• Two out of the 20 sectors compiled by BSE declined, with information iechnology stocks declining the most.

• The market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers as 2,012 stocks advanced, 1781 declined and 121 remained unchanged on the BSE.

(As of 3:05 p.m.)

Juniper Hotels Day 2:

• Qualified Institutional Buyers - 0.04 times

• Non Institutional Investors - 0.10 times.

• Retail Individual Investors - 0.78 times.

• Total subscription - 0.19 times.

GPT Healthcare Day 1:

• Qualified Institutional Buyers - Nil.

• Non Institutional Investors - 0.08 times.

• Retail Individual Investors - 0.52 times.

• Total - 0.28 times.

(As of 2:36 p.m.)

• Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd.'s Joint venture RVNL-SALASAR emerged as the lowest bidder from Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Co.

• The JV won a bid worth Rs 174 crore for the construction of 132 kV and 220 kV transmission lines.

Source: Exchange filing.

The Aditya Birla Group company will launch paints business under 'Birla Opus' and invest Rs 10,000 crore in the undertaking.

NDTV Profit's Sajeet Manghat with the details.

Olectra Greentech Ltd jumped over 7% and touched the highest level since its listing on bourses after the company secured an order worth Rs 4,000 crore from Mumbai's Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport.

The electric bus manufacturer got the order for supplying, and to operate 2,400 buses to BEST in over 18 months.

On NSE, Olectra Greentech Ltd rose 7.72% to Rs 2,221.95 apiece, the highest level since its listing on Mar 20, 2002. It was trading 6.36% higher at Rs 2,193.90 apiece, as of 1:08 a.m. This compares to a 0.48% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 475.05 in 12 months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 2.0 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 77.61.

Juniper Hotels Day 2:

• Qualified Institutional Buyers - Nil.

• Non Institutional Investors - 0.09 times.

• Retail Individual Investors - 0.74 times.

• Total - 0.16 times.

GPT Healthcare Day 1:

• Qualified Institutional Buyers - Nil.

• Non Institutional Investors - 0.06 times.

• Retail Individual Investors - 0.42 times.

• Total - 0.23 times.

(As of 1:00 p.m.)

Benchmark stock indices were trading lower through midday on Thursday after opening flat as banking stocks weighed on investors' sentiments.

As of 11:52 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex traded 352.26 points, or 0.49%, lower at 72,270.83, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 108.65 points, or 0.49%, to 21,946.40.

Indices are likely to witness support around the 22,000–22,030 zone, and till this zone holds, the trend remains positive, and the Indices could inch up higher up to 22,280–22,350 in the coming few sessions, according to Sudeep Shah, head of technical and derivative research at SBI Securities.

"We expect some consolidation at current levels in the range of 21,800–22,300 over the next few days and then a decisive move in the next week," Vikas Jain, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities Ltd., said.

Shares of HDFC Bank Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., State Bank of India, ICICI Bank Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. weighed on the Nifty the most.

ITC Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd. and Coal India Ltd. led the gains.

Seven out of the 12 sectors on the NSE declined, with Nifty Bank, PSU Bank and Financial Services declining by over 1% each.

The broader markets outperformed the larger peers, with the BSE MidCap advancing 0.09% and the SmallCap rising 0.14%.

Ten out of the 20 sectors compiled by BSE declined, with Consumer Durables declining the most.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the sellers as 2,009 stocks declined, 1,663 advanced and 132 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• The Dollar Spot Index at $103.8

• Rupee strengthened 5 paise at Rs 82.92

• India 10-Year Bond Yield at 7.06%

• U.S. 10-Year Bond Yield at 4.31%

• Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2030.14 an ounce

• Bitcoin rose 0.79% to $51,793.32

• The MSCI World index down 0.14%

• Larsen & Toubro Ltd. received an order in the range of Rs 1,000 - 2,500 crore for buildings and factories business.

• Received order from real estate developer for construction of residential towers in Thane.

Source: Exchange Filing

• A global outage on Refinitiv's forex trading platform was impacted trading activity, people in the know told NDTV Profit.

• Forex traders were unable to strike trades due to the outage, sources said.

• Later, Cogencis said that the technical glitch in the trading platform was resolved.

• The private lender exercised the call option on 8.10% perpetual non-cumulative preference shares.

• Declared a dividend of Rs 0.405 per perpetual non-cumulative preference share.

• Payout of the entire call option price and dividend shall be made on March 13

Source: Exchange filing

• NBCC (India) Ltd. and Housing and Urban Development Corp. entered into the two Memorandum of Understandings on Thursday.

• The MoUs are signed to reinforce cooperation and collaboration to leverage respective strengths for the effective implementation of consultancy services and asset monetization activities.

Source: Exchange filing

• Paisalo Digital Ltd.'s board approved raising up to Rs 1,260 crore via qualified institutional placement on Thursday.

• The equity shares will have a face value of Re 1 each per share.

Source: Exchange filing

• FMCG movers and shakers

• Rural demand continues to languish

NDTV Profits's Alex Mathew and Agam Vakil discuss on today's 'The Editors' Cut'.

• The Dollar Spot Index at $103.87

• Rupee strengthened 5 paise at Rs 82.92

• India 10-Year Bond Yield at 7.05%

• U.S. 10-Year Bond Yield at 4.30%

• Spot gold rose 0.6% to $2,028.81 an ounce

• Bitcoin rose 0.41% to $51,597.75

• The MSCI World index down 0.14%

Shares of companies related to the space sector rallied on Thursday after union cabinet approved the amendment in FDI policy for the sector to liberalise policy provisions.

Satellites sub-sector is now divided into three different activities with defined limits for foreign investment in each such sector, according to a statement by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The move would prescribe liberalised entry route and provide clarity for FDI in Satellites, Launch Vehicles and associated systems or subsystems among others, it said.

"The FDI policy reform will enhance Ease of Doing Business in the country, leading to greater FDI inflows and thereby contributing to growth of investment, income and employment," it said.

Shares of MTAR Technologies Ltd. rose as much as 8.42% early in trade and were trading 5.95% higher at Rs 2,018 apiece as of 10:25 a.m. This was followed by gains in Avental Ltd., and Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd.

Further, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. and Walchandnagar Industries rose over 1% as of 10:25 a.m.

• Mas Financials at 8 times its 30-day average, up 4.5%

• ABB India at 4.9 time its 30-day average, up 6%

• Campus Activewear at 3.57 times its 30-day average, up 1.13%

• Mtar Technologies 3.5 times its 30-day average, up 6.06%

• Titagarh Rail invested an additional equity of Rs 100 crore in JV-SPV Shivaliks Mercantile Pvt.

• Shivaliks acquires an additional 28.23% stake in Titagarh Firema, Italy, for €20.2 mn

• Government of Italy makes additional investment of €10 million in Titagarh Firema

• Titagarh Rail's share in Firema stands at 25.43%

Source: Press release

SpiceJet Ltd. raised an additional Rs 316 crore, taking the total fundraising to Rs 1,060 crore under preferential issue.

The airlines allotted 4.01 crore shares to two investors, including Aries Opportunities Fund Ltd, according to a press release. The company sanctioned allotment of 2.31 crore warrants to four investors, including Elara India Opportunities Fund Ltd.

Scrip of SpiceJet Ltd rose as much as 7.65% to Rs 70.60 apiece, the highest level since Feb 19. It was trading 5.20% higher at Rs 68.99 apiece, as of 10:28 a.m. This compares to a 0.58% decline in theBSE Sensex Index.

It has declined 94.34% in 12 months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 1.6 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 55.18.

Out of three analysts tracking the company, one maintain a 'buy' rating, three recommend a 'hold', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies a downside of 30.2.%.

Shares of sugar companies were down in trade as the cabinet approved 'Fair and Remunerative Price' (FRP) for sugarcane on Thursday.

Shares of Grasim Industries Ltd. rose over 2% to hit a life high on Thursday after the company announced the Birla Opus Paints Business and the inauguration of three new plants.

The Chairman of the Aditya Birla company, Kumar Mangalam Birla will inaugurate three Birla Opus Paints plants at Haryana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu on Feb. 22 from their Panipat plant, according to an exchange notification.

Grasim stock rose as much as 2.28% during the day to an all time high of Rs 2,244 apiece on the NSE. It was trading 0.01% higher at Rs 2194.45 apiece, compared to a 0.11% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50 as of 09:54 a.m.

It has risen 39.91% in the last 12 months. The total traded volume so far in the day stood at 6.7 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 59.6.

Eight out of the 10 analysts tracking Grasim have a 'buy' rating on the stock, as many as one recommend a 'hold' and another one suggest a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analyst price targets implies a potential upside of 9.6%.

• Benchmark indices open flat.

• Broader market indices outperform benchmarks on open.

• Nifty Bank trades flat.

• Sectoral indices open mixed.

• Nifty Finserv top lagging sectoral index.

• Nifty Metal top gaining sectoral index.

Scrip of Prataap Snack Ltd. surged 14.29% to Rs 1,344.65 apiece, the highest level since Jan 24, 2024. It pared gains to trade 9.29% higher at Rs 1,285 apiece, as of 09:23 p.m. This compares to a 0.03% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

The benchmark indices opened flat on Thursday after snapping six days of gains in the previous session. The early market trades come against the mixed opening of its Asian peers after the U.S. Fed noted the risks of cutting rates too quickly.

At pre-open, the S&P BSE Sensex Index was up 54.3 points, or 0.07%, at 72,677.42 while the NSE Nifty 50 was 26.5 points or 0.12% higher at 22,081.55.

"We expect some consolidation at current levels in the range of 21,800-22,300 over the next few days and then a decisive move in the next week," Vikas Jain, Senior Research Analyst, Reliance Securities said. RSI has witnessed some contraction after the last few hours sell off and could see some retest of the average line, he said.

Technical analysis suggests caution for Nifty after a bearish engulfing candlestick pattern, with geopolitical tensions and company-specific developments adding to market dynamics, according to Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

Wall Street ended on a positive note after Nvidia Corp. forecasted a better-than-expected sales forecast. The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 rose by 0.13% as of Wednesday.

Brent crude prices were trading below $83 a barrel, and WTI crude was below the $78 mark. The yield on the 10-year U.S. bond was trading at 4.30%, and Bitcoin was above the $51,300 level.

The broader markets underperformed larger peers; the S&P BSE MidCap Index was down 0.73%, and S&P BSE SmallCap Index was 0.77% lower.

Threer out of 20 sectors compiled by BSE advanced, with S&P BSE Oil and gas declining the most.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the sellers. About 1888 stocks fell, 1087 advanced, while 92 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The yield on the 10-year bond opened flat at 7.06%.

Source: Bloomberg

• The local currency strengthened 2 paise to at open 82.95 against the U.S. Dollar.

• It closed at 82.97 on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

• HZL demerger has undertaken keeping shareholder interest in mind.

• To demerge HZL into zinc and silver, recycling to be subsidiary

• Targeting output of 1.2 million tonnes and thereafter 1.5 million tonne

• Tie-up for 450 MW renewable To take care of energy need

• To reduce carbon emission by 50% by June 2025

• Renewable power will bring down the cost of production for HZL

• Activity momentum easing but remains above pre-Covid levels.

• Q3 growth remained weak in agriculture, started to ease in industrial, remains resilient in services.

• Near-term rural outlook to depend on rabi crop production, heatwaves in Feb-March remain a key watch.

• Investment growth in H2 FY24 might be weaker than H1.

• Real GDP growth to ease to 6.7% year-on-year in Q3 FY24, from 7.6% year-on-year in Q2.

• Revenue at $22.1 billion vs Bloomberg estimate of $20.41 billion.

• Adjusted gross margin at 76.7% vs Bloomberg estimate of 75.4%.

• Data centre revenue at $18.4 billion vs Bloomberg estimate of $17.21 billion.

• Gaming revenue at $2.9 billion vs Bloomberg estimate of $2.72 billion.

• Q1 revenue guidance at $24 billion, plus or minus 2%.

Source: Bloomberg

• Most officials noted the risks of cutting rates too quickly.

• Some officials showed concerns over the risk of inflation progress stalling.

• Officials judged policy rate was 'likely at its peak'.

• Several officials noted potential risk from easier financial conditions.

• Some Fed officials said slowing runoff could smoothen transition.

• Officials urged starting 'in-depth discussions' of balance-sheet issues at the March meeting.

• Banking risks were seen as much lower than earlier, but some firms had 'vulnerabilites' that warranted monitoring.

Source: Bloomberg

• U.S. Dollar Index at 103.92

• U.S. 10-year bond yield at 4.30%

• Brent crude up 0.11% at $83.12 per barrel

• Nymex crude up 0.15% at $78.03 per barrel

• GIFT Nifty was up 36 or 0.16% at 22,141 as of 07:51 a.m.

• Bitcoin down up 0.14% at $51,316.05

• Nifty February futures down by 0.82% to 22,070.15 at a premium of 15.1 points.

• Nifty February futures open interest down by 1.4%.

• Nifty Bank February futures down by 0.53% to 47,024.85 at a premium of 5.15 points.

• Nifty Bank February futures open interest down by 0.4%.

• Nifty Options Feb 22 Expiry: Maximum Call open interest at 22,500 and Maximum Put open interest at 21,500.

• Bank Nifty Options Feb 29 Expiry: Maximum Call Open Interest at 47,000 and Maximum Put open interest at 45,000.

• Securities in ban period: Ashok Leyland, Balrampur Chini Mills, Bandhan Bank, Biocon, Canara Bank, GMR Infra, GNFC, Hindustan Copper, India Cement, Indus Tower, National Aluminium, Piramal enterprise, PVR Inox, RBL Bank, Zee Entertainment Enterprise.

• Price band revised from 10% to 5%: Jubilant Industries, Sandur Manganese & Iron Ores.

• Ex/record Dividend: Tide Water Oil, NHPC.

• Ex/record Bonus issue: Mas Financial Services.

• Moved into short-term ASM framework: Automotive Stampings and Assemblies, BLS E-Services, Centum Electronics, Entertainment Network (India).

• Moved out of short-term ASM framework: IRB Infrastructure Developers, Oracle Financial Services Software, Parag Milk Foods, Trent.

• Narayan Hrudalaya: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 27.

• Jupiter Lifeline Hospitals: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 28, 29.

• Jindal Saw: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 26.

• Pidilite Industries: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 27.

• State Bank of India: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 26.

• Voltas: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 26, 27, and 29.

• Brigade Enterprise: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 23.

• Patel Engineering: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 26.

• Global Health: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 26,27 and 28.

• Tega Industries: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 26.

• RPG Life Sciences: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 29.

• RR Kabel: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 29.

• Mahindra Holidays: To meet analysts and investors on Feb 27.

• Steel Strips Wheels: Promoter Dheeraj Garg released a pledge of 29.08 lakh shares on Feb 21.

• Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy: Promoter Khurshed Yazdi Daruvala created a pledge of 4.5 lakh shares on Feb 15.

• Gensol Engineering: Promoter Gensol Ventures created a pledge of 7.5 lakh shares on Feb 14.

• Sasken Technologies: Promoter Shirish Bhagwanlal Mody sold 1,335 shares on Feb 20.

• Poly Medicure: Lighthouse India III Equity Investors sold 12.9 lakh shares (1.34%) at Rs 1,550.06 apiece.

• Devyani International: Yum Restaurants India sold 5.3 crore shares (4.4%), while Nippon India Mutual Fund bought 80 lakh shares (0.66%), Societe Generale bought 50.75 lakh shares (0.42%), Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund bought 50 lakh shares (0.41%), Sundaram Mutual Fund bought 48 lakh shares (0.39%), Government of Singapore bought 44.43 lakh shares (0.36%), Employees Provident Fund bought 38 lakh shares (0.31%), and among others at Rs 164.1 apiece.

• Campus Activewear: QRG Investments and Holdings sold 40.65 lakh shares (1.33%), while SBI Mutual Fund bought 40.65 lakh shares (1.33%) at Rs 245 apiece.

• Juniper Hotels: The public issue was subscribed to 0.11 times on day 1. The bids were led by retail investors (0.52 times), non-institutional investors (0.06 times), and no bids by institutional investors.

• GPT Healthcare: The company will offer its shares for bidding on Thursday. The price band is set from Rs 177 to Rs 186 per share apiece. The Rs 525.14 crore-IPO is combination of fresh issue of Rs 40 crore and offer of sale of Rs 485.14 crores. The company has raised 157.5 crore from anchor investors.

• Sugar stocks: The government announced hiking the sugarcane fair and remunerative price by Rs 25 to Rs 340 per quintal for the 2024–25 season starting in October. FRP is the minimum price that mills have to pay to sugarcane growers.

• Eureka Forbes: Promoter Lunolux plans to divest up to a 12% stake in the company for Rs 1,148.7 crore via block deals.

• Zee Entertainment Enterprise: SEBI might issue a show cause notice to the company next month in a fund diversion case.

• Axis Bank: Moody's affirmed the lender's long-term deposit ratings at 'Baa3' with a stable outlook, saying India's favourable operating environment offers the bank an opportunity to further strengthen its market position.

• NBCC: The company received in-principal approval from the Greater Noida Authority for the development of unused and purchasable floor area ratios in furtherance of existing Amrapali projects valued at Rs 10,000 crore.

• Brigade Enterprises, PVP Ventures: The companies signed joint development agreement to develop a 2.5 million square feet, high-rise residential project in Chennai with a revenue potential of about Rs 2,000 crore. The company unit signed a 45-year lease agreement with the landowners to build a 250-room resort on East Coast Road in Chennai.

• Home First Finance: The company received a corporate agent licence from the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India for soliciting life, general and health insurance.

• Grasim Industries: The company will launch Birla Opus Paints Business and will inaugurate three plants.

• UPL: The company incorporated a step-down subsidiary, Advanta Seeds Hungary, for the seeds business.

• South Indian Bank: The lender announced a Rs 1,151 crore rights issue. It will offer 52 crore shares at Rs 22 per share. The issue opens on March 6 and closes on March 20, and the record date is set as Feb. 27. The rights ratio is set at 1 share for every 4 shares held.

• Salasar Techno Engineering: The company said it is confident of getting firm orders to manufacture and supply monopoles amounting to Rs 200 crores within the next 12 months.

• SG Mart: The company incorporated a unit in Dubai in the name of SG Mart FZE.

• Sula Vineyards: The company announced that the Maharashtra government has issued a GR for the continuation of the Wine Industrial Promotion Scheme for a period of eight years.

• J. Kumar Infraprojects: Madan Biyani has resigned from the position of Chief Financial Officer.

• LTIMindtree: The company signed an MoU with Eurolife FFH to establish Gen Al and digital hubs in Europe and Mumbai.

• Grauer and Weil: The board will consider the bonus issue on Feb. 26.

Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mixed after the U.S. Fed noted the risks of cutting rates too quickly, while some officials expressed concerns over the risk of inflation progress stalling.

The Nikkei 225 was trading 1.46% higher at 38,819, and the S&P ASX 200 was trading up 0.14% at 7,598.

Wall Street ended on a positive note after Nvidia Corp. forecasted a better-than-expected sales forecast. The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 rose by 0.13% as of Wednesday.

The Bank of Korea kept its benchmark seven-day repurchase repo rate unchanged at 3.5% today, in line with the Bloomberg Survey's forecast. The central bank also maintained growth and inflation forecasts.

Brent crude prices were trading below $83 a barrel, and WTI crude was below the $78 mark. The yield on the 10-year U.S. bond was trading at 4.30%, and Bitcoin was above the $51,300 level.

The GIFT Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, was up 36 or 0.16%, at 22,141 as of 7:51 a.m.

India’s benchmark stock indices erased early gains and declined sharply to snap a six-session rally on Wednesday, ahead of the announcement of minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed 434.31 points, or 0.59%, lower at 72,623.09, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 141.90 points, or 0.64%, to end at 22,055.05.

Overseas investors turned net buyers of Indian equities on Wednesday after two consecutive days of selling. Foreign portfolio investors mopped up stocks worth Rs 284.7 crore, while domestic institutional investors turned net sellers and offloaded equities worth Rs 411.6 crore, the NSE data showed.

The Indian currency strengthened 6 paise to open at Rs 82.91 against the U.S. dollar.