You can't choose the ways in which you'll be tested. - Robert J. Sawyer.
The Indian stock indices seem to be testing the recent tops and the charts point to faltering momentum after six days of gains, indicating a temporal pause to the uptrend. Indian markets are likely to consolidate in a sideways fashion in the wake of an extremely muted session on Wall Street. Trend in Asia is mixed. The Nikkei is down while Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks are up as they resumed trading after a holiday.
Markets in Europe managed slim gains amid optimism that the debt-strapped nations in the region are tackling the crisis well. But, stocks in Spain declined on reports that it was seeking bailout money. The IMF and the government in Madrid have denied any such plans. The euro is stable around $1.22 while crude is hovering around $77.
Though there has been some relief over the sovereign debt situation in the euro-zone the problem is far from over. It may drag on for many months. Keep that in mind before taking large bets. Back home, the monsoon picture seems to be pretty as of now. Hopefully it would be able to sooth a few frayed nerves after the recent spike in inflation.
Reliance group stocks, particularly the ADAG ones, may remain in the limelight amid relentless newsflow. Meanwhile, RIL may see some action ahead of its AGM in Mumbai tomorrow.
Bajaj Hindusthan's Board will meet to consider the Scheme of amalgamation of Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar and Industries Ltd. (a 75% listed subsidiary) with the company.
Duncans Industries' Board will meet today to consider induction of a strategic investor for the revival of Fertilizer division of the company.
Gayatri Projects' Board will meet today to enter into the business / to make an application with NEDCAP for generation of Non-Convention energy (Solar Power).
FIIs were net buyers of Rs7.84bn in the cash segment on Wednesday on a provisional basis, according to the NSE data. The local institutions were net sellers at Rs1.71bn on the same day. In the F&O segment, the foreign funds were net buyers of Rs17.44bn.
On Tuesday, FIIs were net buyers of Rs6.93bn in the cash segment, as per SEBI data. Mutual Funds were net sellers at Rs1.48bn in the cash segment on the same day.
US stocks reversed early losses and finished nearly flat on Wednesday after yet another choppy session as investors were put off by mixed economic news and rumors about a possible bailout of Spain. A disappointing outlook from FedEx also weighed on the sentiment.
BP remained in the spotlight as it agreed to establish a $20 billion escrow fund and cancel its quarterly dividend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 5 points, or 0.1%, at 10,409.46. It was down by as much as 72 points earlier in the session, following a disappointing report on the housing market.
Rebounding from an 8-point loss, the S&P 500 index finished unchanged at 1,114.61 and the Nasdaq Composite index too closed static at 2,305.93. The tech-heavy index was 16 points lower earlier.
The euro, watched closely in recent months to gauge the emerging debt situation in Europe, remained stable after the Spanish government denied plans to obtain new funding.
The dollar was higher against rivals. The greenback rose 0.2% against the euro, but the shared currency remained above $1.23. The dollar edged up 0.1% against the British pound. It was slightly lower on the yen to ¥91.43.
US light crude oil for July delivery rose 73 cents to settle at $77.67 a barrel, and gold for August delivery rose fell $3.90 cents to settle at $1,1230.50 per ounce.
Treasury prices edged higher, lowering the 10-year note's yield to 3.28% from 3.31% the day before.
For every three stocks on the rise two were falling on the New York Stock Exchange, where 1.1 billion shares traded.
US stocks had gained on Tuesday as fears about Europe's debt crisis continued to ebb and the euro rallied, rising above the $1.23 level for the first time in more than a week. The three major indexes added more than 2% and finished above key milestone levels. That momentum initially lost some steam on Wednesday.
Obama administration officials confirmed that BP agreed to put roughly $20 billion in an escrow account to payout claims from the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. President Obama met with BP executives in the White House, including CEO Tony Hayward and the company's chairman, Carl Henric Svanberg.
The British oil company announced that it is canceling its quarterly dividend for the rest of the year, and promised that it would revisit the issue next year. Obama told the nation on Tuesday night that he will make BP pay for the costs of cleaning up the oil disaster. He also pushed the Congress to move on clean energy legislation. Shares of BP finished up 1.4%.
US stocks slipped on worse-than-expected housing news and a tempered outlook from FedEx.
FedEx posted a fiscal fourth-quarter profit, and the shipping giant said that it expects earnings for fiscal 2011 to be "constrained" due to higher costs. The news sent the company's shares down nearly 6% and pressured the broader market earlier in the session.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve reported that industrial production climbed 0.2% in May, after rising 0.7% the previous month. Economists were expecting the figure to edge up 0.8%.
The Commerce Department reported that housing starts declined 10% in May, the largest drop since March 2009.
Building permits, a measure of builder confidence, also fell sharply, dropping 5.9% from the previous month.
Another report showed that the Producer Price index (PPI), a key measure of wholesale inflation, fell 0.3% in May after slipping 0.1% in April. The so-called Core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2%. Economists thought Core PPI would rise 0.1%.
Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been overseen by the government since September 2008, were ordered by their federal regulator to delist from the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of both were closed nearly 40% lower.
Nokia shares plunged more than 10% after the mobile handset company cautioned investors that its cell phone business will post weaker-than-expected second quarter results, due July 22.
Shares of Apple rose 3% after AT&T said that it was suspending preordering of the tech titan's iPhone 4 so it could fill current orders.
European shares managed to post modest gains, as strength in the insurance and drug sectors offset losses in Spanish banks and a profit warning from Nokia. There were more signs that governments in Europe are acting to reduce deficits, with France outlining a plan to lift its retirement age to 62 from 60. After five consecutive sessions of gains, the Stoxx Europe 600 index ended up just 0.1% to 254.47.
There were also reports that International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn will meet with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodrigo Zapatero on Friday in Madrid for talks on the economy. A spokesperson at the IMF dismissed the idea that any rescue package is being planned, something the Spanish government also has repeatedly denied.
The Ibex 35 index in Madrid was down 0.6% at 9,683.30 as Santander fell 0.7% and BBVA shares lost 0.2%. The German DAX index gained 0.3% to 6,190.91, the French CAC-40 index added 0.4% to 3,675.93 and The U.K. FTSE 100 index advanced 0.4% to 5,237.92.
The euro declined 0.2% to $1.2285 against the dollar while sterling traded flat at $1.4790.
Nokia was down 9% after the Finnish company cut its second-quarter margin and sales outlook in the devices segment citing high-end competition, shifts to lower gross margin products and the recent depreciation of the euro.
BP fell 1.5%, as it continues to struggle to stem an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.