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PremiumMarket Close Highlights : Stock futures pointed to modest gains in Europe after chipmakers drove a rally in Asia and yet another record-breaking session in the US.
Futures contracts for the Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.2% as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1%, lifted by the tech-heavy markets of South Korea and Taiwan. S&P 500 futures were little changed.
Traders pushed the S&P 500 closer to the historic 5,500 mark on Tuesday, betting the potential for Federal Reserve rate cuts will keep fueling the tech industry. Nvidia Corp. became the world’s most-valuable company — topping Microsoft Corp. — to extend this year’s record-breaking surge.
A Bloomberg gauge of the dollar was little changed, after falling in the previous session. There’s no trading of Treasuries globally on Wednesday due to a holiday in the US.
“Tech stock rallies in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan are expected to continue, it’s not just about Nvidia," said Aisa Ogoshi, a portfolio Manager at JPMorgan Asset Management, said in a Bloomberg TV interview. Apple Inc.’s plans on AI will also benefit its suppliers, she added.
Hong Kong stocks rebounded to lead the gains in the region, while mainland Chinese shares slipped as traders digested speeches at the Lujiazui Forum, where securities regulator chief Wu Qing and People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng are among the speakers.
“Hong Kong stocks are rising on the back of the Shanghai LJZ forum," said Billy Leung, an investment strategist at Global X ETFs. “There’s anticipation of positive policies and expectations of reforms for banks regarding shareholder returns. I suspect the policies could be more relevant for Hong Kong-listed shares."
China’s 10-year bond futures rose to a record intraday high amid a months-long bull run in the country’s debt market. PBOC Governor Pan said the central bank, together with the finance ministry, is studying how to implement government bond trading.
Japan’s bond futures fell after a Bloomberg report that the Ministry of Finance is weighing a plan to shift more of its issuance to shorter-maturity bonds. That would signify a major change as the central bank moves to cut purchases of government debt. The yen edged higher after a four-session slide.
Overnight, Wall Street waded through mixed economic data that showed US industrial production increased, helped by a broad-based pickup in factory output. Separately, retail sales barely rose and prior months were revised lower. A chorus of Fed officials emphasized the need for more evidence of cooling inflation before lowering rates.
“Investors should lean toward the glass-half-full view, but recognize macroeconomic conditions," said Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise.
In corporate news, Norinchukin Bank, Japan’s biggest agricultural bank, said it will diversify its investment portfolio as it braces for massive losses on the sale of roughly 10 trillion yen ($63 billion) in US and European sovereign bonds.
In commodities, oil steadied after closing at a seven-week high as a sustained risk-on mood in wider markets outweighed signs of further stockpile growth. Gold was little changed.
Sensex Today Live : Traders booked profits on Wednesday after India's benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened at fresh all-time highs on Tuesday and climbed higher still, led by an overnight rally in chipmaker stocks that had pushed Wall Street to a record high close as well.
Sensex, which had opened at a record high of 77,543.22, created a fresh all-time high of 77,851.63, as investors piled onto banking stocks. But the 30-stock index also touched a low of 76,954.87, as traders booked profit at record high levels. At close, Sensex was at 77,337.59, up 36.45 points, or 0.05%.
Similarly, the Nifty 50, which had opened at a record high of 23,629.85, touched another record high at 23,664.00, before fallling into the red as investors booked profit. At close, Nifty was at 23,516, down 41.90 points, or 0.18%.
Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst at Bonanza Portfolio, said, "Nifty50 and Sensex hit fresh record highs for the fourth consecutive session today. After the release of U.S. retail sales data that fell short of expectations, the gains were led by stocks in Banking and IT sector. However, these factors strengthened expectations of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in near terms".
Meanwhile, 20 of the 30 stocks on the BSE Sensex closed in the red. Titan, Maruti Suzuki India, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, and NTPC, were the top drags for the day, while Axis Bank, HDFC bank, IndusInd Bank, ICIC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, were the top gainers.
The trend was repeated on the Nifty 50, where 39 of the 50 stocks closed in the red. Titan, Maruti Suzuki India, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, and BPCL, were the top drags, while Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, were the top gainers for the day.
"US 10-year bond yield also declining to 4.22% is pushing FIIs to buy more which is benefiting stocks like HDFC bank, ICICI bank and Axis Bank which are available at attractive valuation," said Vidwani.
The broader market closed in the red, with the BSE SmallCap index closing down 0.58% and the BSE MidCap ending 0.91% lower.
Meanwhile, across sectors, the bank and financial services index surged ahead on Wednesday, led by a rally in private sector banking stocks, while the IT index also closed higher.
That apart, heavyweigh sectoral indices like consumer durables, oil & gas, pharma, healthcare, metal, FMCG, auto and media were among the top sectoral losers for the day.
Sensex Today Live : The bank and financial services index had surged ahead, led by a rally in private sector banking stocks, and the IT index was also trading in the green.
That apart, heavyweigh indices like consumer durables, pharma, health, oil & gas, metal, FMCG, and auto were among the top sectoral losers and were trading in the red.
Sensex Today Live : The broader market was in the red, with the BSE SmallCap index down 0.53% and the BSE MidCap down 0.85%.
Sensex Today Live : 39 of the 50 stocks on the Nifty 50 were trading in the red. Titan, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco, and BPCL, were the top drags, while HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and IndusInd Bank were the top gainers.
Sensex Today Live : 20 of the 30 stocks on the BSE Sensex were trading in the red. Titan, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti Suzuki India, and NTPC, were the top drags, while Axis Bank, HDFC bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICIC Bank, and IndusInd Bank were the top gainers.
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices were trading flat to muted after opening at record high levels on Wednesday as traders booked profit at higher valuations.
At 3 pm, Sensex was up 182.68 points, or 0.24%, at 77,483.82 and Nifty was flat at 23,557.30.
Sensex Today Live : Hyundai Motor India’s forthcoming IPO is noteworthy for several reasons. It’s expected to be India’s largest, aiming to raise ₹25,000 crore, surpassing the Life Insurance Corporation of India’s ₹21,000 crore. This reflects a positive business outlook that could signal a much-anticipated resurgence in private investment.
As India’s second-largest car manufacturer, Hyundai plans to invest ₹32,000 crore over the next decade. While some funds will be allocated to the recently acquired General Motors’ Talegaon facility, the majority will be directed towards their shift to electric vehicles (EVs). This includes establishing EV charging networks and component supply chains. However, Hyundai isn’t alone in this endeavor. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Vikas Lifecare today announced that the Plan Support Agreement submitted by “The Consortium" including Vikas Lifecare, as the Stalking Horse Bidder for the acquisition of 100% of the equity of Ebix Inc., has been approved by the Independent Directors of Ebix. Inc. The consortium is led by Eraaya Lifespaces.
The company, in an exchange filing, said, its consortium has also remitted the 5% cash deposit as required to further the process.
It added that the acquisition will be effectuated through a Plan of Reorganization, negotiated between the bidders and major stakeholders of Ebix. Inc. under Chapter 11 provisions. The Plan would be subject to Bankruptcy Court approval in accordance with the provisions of the United States of America Bankruptcy Code.
The proposal provides for the acquisition of 100% of the equity in Ebix Inc. by the consortium, which includes assets and liabilities in the worldwide subsidiaries of Ebix (other than liabilities in the North American Company), except as otherwise agreed to by the consortium in accordance with the Stalking Horse Plan Support Agreement, the company added.
Sensex Today Live : Escorts Kubota today announced that it has withdrawn the expression of interest it had submitted to the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) for the proposed acquisition of land in Ghiloth, Rajasthan to set up an Integrated Greenfield Manufacturing Facility, for expanding its existing capacities.
The company, in an exchange filing, said, "Based on the detailed assessment of the location, the Company has reached a conclusion that the location does not meet all the key requirements for a large scale project being planned and accordingly the Company has withdrawn the aforesaid EOI".
However, the company added that it is committed to setting up a greenfield manufacturing facility in line with its mid term business plans and continues to explore alternate options with other State(s) including Rajasthan.
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices had slipped into the red after opening at record high levels on Wednesday as traders booked profit at higher valuations.
At 2 pm, Sensex was up 132.52 points, or 0.17%, at 77,433.66 and Nifty was down 6.65 points, or 0.03%, at 23,551.25.
Sensex Today Live : 360 One Wam today announced that it has allotted 1.61 million shares to its eligible employees.
The company, in an exchange filing, said, "We wish to inform that the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company vide resolution passed by circulation on June 19, 2024, has allotted 16,08,322 equity shares of face value Re. 1 each, to the employee(s), upon exercise of stock options under Employee Stock Options Scheme(s) of the Company".
Sensex Today Live : Axis Bank today announced that its board has approved the aquisition of shares worth ₹336 crore of Max Life Insurance Company, to increase its stake in the company to 19.99%, from 19.02% earlier.
The company, in an exchange filing, said, "We would now like to inform you that the Acquisitions, Divestments and Merger Committee of the Board of Directors of the Bank at its meeting held on June 19, 2024, has approved a proposal for acquisition of additional equity shares of Max Life by the Bank for an amount of upto Rs. 336 crore, thereby increasing the aggregate shareholding of the Axis Entities from 19.02% to 19.99%".
Sensex Today Live : State Bank of India today announced that its board has approved raising ₹20,000 crore via long-term bonds through a public issue or private placement, in FY25.
The company, in an exchange filing, said, "We submit that the Central Board at its meeting held today i.e. 19 th June 2024 has, inter alia, accorded approval for raising long term bonds up to an amount of Rs. 20,000 crore through a public issue or private placement, during FY25".
Sensex Today Live : United Spirits today announced that it has received tax demand notice from Joint Commissioner of State Tax (Appeals), Maharashtra, for FY12 and FY13, amounting to a total of ₹33.27 crore.
The company, in an exchange filing, said, it will be filing a rectification applicatoin or an appeal before a higher forum.
Sensex Today Live : Coal India today announced that in a bid to tap the latent coal reserves of some of its closed and discontinued underground mines, it has awarded 23 such mines on revenue sharing model to successful bidders of the private sector. The cumulative peak rated capacity is 34.14 million tonnes/year (MT/Y) while the total extractable reserves are estimated at 635 MT.
Earlier, CIL had identified a total of 34 discontinued mines where good quality coal reserves are lying dormant but may not be financially viable for CIL to mine them. CIL has decided to tender and offer these mines to willing private sector players who are prepared to operate and produce the dry fuel and share part of the revenue with CIL, the company said in an exchange filing.
Successful bidder will be the company which offers the maximum revenue to Coal India. The minimum revenue to be shared is 4%. The contract period is for a maximum of 25 years, the company added.
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices had slipped into the red after opening at record high levels on Wednesday as traders booked profit at higher valuations.
At 1 pm, Sensex was up 90.06 points, or 0.12%, at 77,391.20 and Nifty was down 12.60 points, or 0.05%, at 23,545.30.
Sensex Today Live : Young investors are capitalizing on a four-year stock market surge, demonstrating the impact of strategic investing in the current vibrant financial environment.
These millennial and Gen Z investors, ranging from law students to merchant navy officers, are utilizing technology and financial knowledge to transform humble starts into significant profits, thereby realizing dreams and altering lives. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Venus today announced that it has been awarded an oncology tender by the WHO-backed Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), for supplying essential cancer drugs to multiple Latin American countries.
The company has been entrusted with the responsibility of supplying a wide range of essential oncology drugs like bleomycin, carboplatin, cisplatin, cytarabine, doxorubicin, irinotecan, methotrexate, and vincristine, the company said in an exchange filing.
Sensex Today Live : Across sectors, heavyweight indices like Bank, financial services, private bank, had surged ahead followed by IT and PSU Bank.
Among the losers were realty, consumer goods, oil & gas, media, metal, pharma, healthcare, auto and FMCG.
Sensex Today Live : The broader market was trending down, with the BSE SmallCap shedding 0.26% and the BSE MidCap losing 0.51%.
Sensex Today Live : 40 out of the 50 stocks on the Nifty 50 were trading in the red. Titan, Hero MotoCorp, Hindalco, Coal India, and Bajaj Auto, were the top drags, while IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Infosys, were the top gainers.
Sensex Today Live : 20 of the 30 stocks on the BSE Sensex were trading in the red. Titan, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti Suzuki India, Bharti Airtel, and NTPC, were the top drags, while IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Axis Bank, were the top gainers.
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices were trading on a mixed note after opening at record high levels on Wednesday as traders booked profit at higher valuations.
At 12 pm, Sensex was up 71.1 points, or 0.09%, at 77,372.24 and Nifty was down 18.05 points, or 0.08%, at 23,539.85.
Sensex Today Live : Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail today announced that it has acquired a 16% stake in the owner of 'Wrogn' brand owner Universal Sportsbiz.
The company, in an exchange filing, said, "Aditya Birla Digital Fashion Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, has executed a Binding Offer Letter with Universal Sportsbiz Private Limited on June 18, 2024, for a minority investment with an option for a path to majority stake acquisition in USPL, comprising of manufacturing and distribution of fashion apparels, footwear and accessories, under the brand 'Wrogn'.
Sensex Today Live : Restaurant Brands Asia, that operates Burger King stores in India, today announced that it has invested ₹20.39 crore in its Indonesian subsidiary PT Sari Burger Indonesia, by way of subscription of redeemable non-convertible preference shares in the compay.
In an exchange filing, the company said, "We hereby inform you that the Borrowings, Investments, Loans and Finance Committee of the Board of Directors of Restaurant Brands Asia Limited, at its meeting held today i.e. on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, considered and approved investment in PT Sari Burger Indonesia, subsidiary of the Company, by way of subscription of redeemable cumulative non-convertible preference shares of an amount of IDR 40,00,00,00,000 equivalent to INR".
Sensex Today Live : Tata Motors today announced that it will increase the price of its commercial vehicles from 1 July 2024, by up to 2%.
The price increase is to offset the impact of rising commodity prices, the company said in an exchange filing. It will be applicable across the entire range of commercial vehicles, and will vary as per individual model and variant, the company added.
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices had slipped into the red after opening at record high levels on Wednesday as traders booked profit at higher valuations.
At 10 am, Sensex was down 13.72 points, or 0.02%, at 77,287.42 and Nifty was down 53.85 points, or 0.23%, at 23,504.05.
Sensex Today Live : Exicom Tele-Systems today announced that it has entered into a partnership with Hubject to use its innovative interoperability technology to improve the charging experience for EV drivers in India. This includes Hubject’s intercharge platform, which will make it easier for EV drivers to find charge points and then simply charge when needed, the company said in an exchange filing.
Sensex Today Live : Bharti Airtel today announced that it has increased its stake in Indus Towers by 1%, with the acquisition of nearly 27 million shares in the company.
The telecom major, in an exchange filing, said, "We wish to inform that the ‘Special Committee of Directors for evaluation of stake in Subsidiaries and Joint Ventures’ has today i.e. on June 19, 2024, approved the acquisition of upto 27 million equity stake in Indus Towers Limited (‘Indus Towers’) in accordance with the applicable regulations".
"Accordingly, with the aforesaid approval of the Special Committee, the Company has acquired ~26.95 million (i.e. 1%) equity shares of Indus Towers today on-market," it added.
Sensex Today Live : Kavveri Telecom Products today announced that it has secured a Purchase Order for ₹10.9 crore for radio frequency products and antennas under the Make in India initiative for a mission-critical project in India.
Kavveri developed these products at its Research and Development centre in India for the first time under Make in India initiative, the company said in an exchange filing.
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices opened at a record high on Wednesday and were trading in the green, led by another record breaking session on the Wall Street on Tuesday that was driven primarily by a rally in AI-focussed chipmaker stocks and a colder US retail sales data that was fuelling anticipation of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve in September this year.
At 10 am, Sensex was up 159.38 points, or 0.21%, at 77,460.52 and Nifty was up 21.50 points, or 0.09%, at 23,579.40.
Sensex Today Live : PNB Housing Finance today announced that it has appointed Vikas Rana as Head - Construction Finance, of the company, effective from June 18.
Sensex Today Live : JLR and Chery Automobile have signed a Letter of Intent to strengthen CJLR’s electric vehicles product offering in China.
Under the proposed new licensing agreement, the CJLR Joint Venture will pivot to produce an advanced portfolio of electric vehicles based on Chery’s EV architecture, exclusively under the Freelander name.
Marking the beginning of a new strategic phase for CJLR, Freelander will become a brand reborn under license from JLR as part of a new value creation system independent from both Chery’s existing portfolio and JLR’s modern luxury House of Brands, Tata Motors, which owns JLR, said in an exchange filing.
Sensex Today Live : Across sectors, realty, consumer durables, oil & gas, and auto indices were the top sectoral losers, followed by PSU bank and metal indices.
Among the gainers were bank and financial services, while IT, FMCG and pharma were muted.
Sensex Today Live : The broader market had slipped into the red, with the BSE SmallCap shedding 1.17% and the BSE MidCap losing 1%.
Sensex Today Live : 29 of the 50 stocks on the Nifty 50 were trading in the red. Titan, Shriram Finance, Adani Enterprises, BPCL, and Coal India were the top drags, while ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Axis Bank were the top gainers.
Sensex Today Live : 11 of the 30 stocks on the BSE Sensex were trading in the red. Titan, Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid Corp., and NTPC, were the top drags, while IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, JSW Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank were the top gainers.
Sensex Today Live : The company has launched its Make-in-India range of servers, designed to harness the robust capabilities of the latest 4th Gen AMD EPYC processors.
Sensex Today Live : The speciality chemicals manufacturer has launched its Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) with a floor price set at ₹1,228.7 per share. The company aims to raise ₹500 crore through this equity fundraising exercise. It will hold a board meeting on June 21 to decide the issue price of the QIP.
Sensex Today Live : Wabco Asia is expected to sell a 5% stake in ZF Commercial through a block deal, at a floor price of ₹14,980 per share, according to sources.
Sensex Today Live : Vodafone Group Plc will sell a 9.94% stake in Indus Towers through a bulk deal at a price range of ₹310- ₹341 per share. The sale, which is slated to open on Wednesday, is managed by Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Jefferies, and BNP Paribas.
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices opened in the green on Wednesday, led by another record breaking session on the Wall Street on Tuesday that was driven primarily by a rally in AI-focussed chipmaker stocks and a colder US retail sales data that was fuelling anticipation of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve in September this year.
At opening bell, Sensex was up 117.22 points, or 0.15%, at 77,418.36 and Nifty was up 71.95 points, or 0.31%, at 23,629.85.
Sensex Today Live : "Higher highs and higher lows are clear indicators of a strong bull rally. This is happening now in the Nifty which has set four days of record highs. Net institutional activity has turned positive with both FIIs and DIIs turning buyers.
The US 10-year bond yield declining to 4.21 % may nudge FIIs to buy more. This is pushing FII-heavy stocks like HDFC bank and ICICI bank which have more room to appreciate since their valuations are fair.
Economic news continues to be positive. Net direct tax collections have shot up by 21%. More importantly, advance tax collections have increased impressively by 27.38 % reflecting robust economic activity.
In brief, it is advantage bulls."
--Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices were up at pre-open on Wednesday, led by another record breaking session on the Wall Street on Tuesday that was driven by a rally in AI-focussed chipmaker stocks and a colder US retail sales data that was fuelling anticipation of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve in September this year.
Sensex was up 242.08 points, or 0.31%, at 77,543.22 and Nifty was up 71.95 points, or 0.31%, at 23,629.85 during pre-open.
Sensex Today Live : "GIFT Nifty is up by 67 points, standing at 23,557, with market sentiment bolstered by increasing bets on a US soft landing and a potential September rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Technically, Nifty targets are set at 23,750 and 24,000, with critical support at 23,250 and the 200 DMA at 21,268. Options data suggests a trading range of 23,000-24,000, with significant resistance at 24,000 and support at 23,000. Recommended trades include buying Nifty at current levels with targets of 23,701/23,751 and aggressive targets at 24,000-24,250, and buying Bank Nifty at current levels with targets of 50,750/51,133 and aggressive targets at 51,750-52,500. Key stock picks include ICICI BANK, HDFC AMC, NTPC, TATA POWER, and COAL INDIA, with a strong buy recommendation on COAL INDIA at CMP 489 for targets of 503/515 and aggressive targets at 525, driven by momentum."
--Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities
Sensex Today Live : Indus Towers, HUDCO, Birla Cables, Vikram Solar, Midhani, are a few stocks likely to be in focus on Wednesday, June 19.
Sensex Today Live : India’s key stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are projected to open on a high note on Wednesday, buoyed by encouraging global market trends. The Gift Nifty’s trading around the 23,660 level, nearly 90 points above the Nifty futures’ previous close, also signals a positive start for the Indian benchmark index.
Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, noted the formation of a small negative candle, or a non-classical doji pattern, at the new highs on the Nifty 50’s daily chart. While such patterns typically signal caution for long positions at the highs, the impact of this pattern might be less significant due to its formation amidst a range movement.
Shetti maintains a positive outlook for the short-term trend of Nifty, given its range-bound action and its ability to stay above the 23,515 level (1.382% Fibonacci extension). He anticipates that the Nifty could reach the next resistance level of 23,950 (1.786% Fibonacci extension) in the near term. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Following positive global market trends, India’s benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are anticipated to open at new highs on Wednesday. The upbeat sentiment is influenced by the strong performance of Asian markets and record closing highs of the US stock market indices, Nasdaq and S&P 500, driven by a rally in Nvidia and other chip stocks.
On Tuesday, the Indian stock market extended its record-breaking run, with the Sensex rising by 308.37 points (0.40%) to close at 77,301.14, and the Nifty 50 gaining 92.30 points (0.39%) to settle at 23,557.90.
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, noted that the key benchmark indices continued their record-breaking spree due to renewed buying interest from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and expectations of a rate cut by year-end amid moderating domestic inflation. He added that investors are optimistic about an increase in monsoon activity in the coming weeks, which could stimulate consumption, especially in rural areas, and support overall growth in the remaining quarters of the fiscal year. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Markets globally were buoyed by another record breaking session on the Wall Street on Tuesday that was driven by a rally in AI-focussed chipmaker tech stocks and a colder US retail sales data fuelled anticipation of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reseve later this year.
In India, the Gift Nifty futures, trading at 23,661, were also indicating a strong start for benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty. Nifty 50 had closed at 23,557.90 on Tuesday.
Asian shares rose to their highest in three weeks on Wednesday, buoyed by a rally in tech stocks, while the dollar wobbled after soft U.S. retail sales data reinforced expectations of the Federal Reserve cutting rates later this year.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.72% higher, with the tech stocks in the region up 1.6% at a record high.
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.59%, while blue chip stocks in China were 0.42% lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.3%.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. retail sales barely rose in May and data for the prior month was revised considerably lower, suggesting economic activity remained lacklustre in the second quarter.
The data led to a small boost in rate cut expectations for September with traders pricing in a 67% chance of easing compared to a 61% chance a day earlier, CME FedWatch tool showed. Markets are pricing in 48 basis points of cuts this year.
"(The) Fed will need more data to support its case for a rate cut and investors should not overact to one or two data points," said Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC.
Last week, mild U.S. inflation readings contrasted with an overall hawkish stance by Fed officials, who trimmed their previous median projection for three quarter-point rate cuts this year to one.
"Rate cuts are a stronger story for 2025 but that's fine because there is hope that it will happen in a bigger way over the next two years even if 2024 remains uncertain, and that will keep markets supported," Menon said.
Fed officials, heartened by recent data, are looking for further confirmation that inflation is cooling and for any warning signs from a still-strong labour market as they steer cautiously toward what most expect to be an interest rate cut or two by the end of this year.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs on Tuesday, with Nvidia dethroning tech heavyweight Microsoft to become the world's most valuable company.
U.S. markets are closed on Wednesday, which will likely result in subdued trading throughout the day.
In currency markets, the dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against six rivals, was last at 105.29, while the euro steadied at $1.0738.
The single currency has been under pressure in the wake of French President Emmanuel Macron calling for a snap election following a trouncing of his ruling centrist party in the European Parliament elections.
Sterling was flat at $1.2704 in early trading ahead of UK inflation data due later in the day that will set the stage for Bank of England (BoE) policy decision on Thursday, with the central bank widely expected to stand pat on rates.
The inflation report is expected to show Britain's inflation rate fell back to the BoE's 2% target in May, from 2.3% in April.
Kyle Chapman, FX markets analyst at Ballinger Group, said Wednesday's May inflation report will be the deciding factor and a cut could still be on the table if services inflation gets back on track.
"Unless it collapses, I think we will need a few pieces of evidence to convince the Bank of England that it is sustainably on the way down," he said.
In Asia, the Japanese yen was little changed at 157.83 per dollar, hovering close to the six-week low of 158.255 it touched last week. The currency remains under pressure from the wide difference between interest rates in Japan and the United States.
Minutes of Bank of Japan's April policy meeting showed policymakers debated the impact a weak yen could have on prices, with some flagging the chance of raising interest rates sooner than expected if inflation overshoots.
In commodities, oil prices wobbled as concerns over escalating conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East offset demand worries following an unexpected build in U.S. crude inventories.
