Indian Markets Closed For BMC Election

(RTTNews) - Indian stock markets remain closed today as Maharashtra holds elections for at least 29 municipal corporations.

Both the BSE and NSE have issued revised circulars stating that trading across all segments will remain suspended today. Currency and commodity markets will also remain closed.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended down around 0.3 percent each on Wednesday after a choppy session, weighed down by sustained foreign investor selling and elevated crude oil prices due to geopolitical tensions.

The rupee pared initial gains and settled the day 6 paise lower at 90.29 against the U.S. dollar due to risk aversion in global markets.

After the market close, Infosys reported a fall in net profit in the third quarter of the current financial year but unexpectedly raised its revenue forecast.

Foreign investors net sold shares worth Rs 4,781 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs 5,217 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were mixed this morning as tech stocks pulled back following reports that Chinese customs authorities have blocked Nvidia's H200 AI chips.

Gold traded lower after surging to records in the previous session. The dollar index held steady near a one-month high it touched on Wednesday.

Oil prices fell for the first time in six days, with WTI crude futures tumbling nearly 3 percent after U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has stayed executions of protesters, signaling he may hold off on attacking the country for now.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended lower to extend losses from the previous session as bank earnings proved to be a mixed bag and President Trump ramped up the pressure on Iran as well as Denmark and Greenland.

In economic news, U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in November, producer prices picked up slightly in the month and existing home sales accelerated in December while the current account deficit saw a significant drop in the third quarter, a slew of reports showed.

The Fed's Beige Book showed that overall economic activity was increasing at a "slight to moderate" pace in most parts of the country.

Traders also reacted to statements from Federal Reserve officials, including Anna Paulson, Neel Kashkari and Raphael Bostic.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1 percent, the S&P 500 shed half a percent and the Dow finished marginally lower.

European stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as investors assessed earnings updates from major U.S. lenders and monitored the latest developments on the geopolitical front.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.2 percent. The German DAX dropped half a percent and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added half a percent.