Sensex, Nifty poised for a weak start
Japan's exports snapped seven months of double-digit growth in October due to slowing car shipments hit by global supply constraints.
Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 66 points at the opening bell. Overseas, Asian stocks are mostly trading lower on Wednesday, as Japan’s exports growth hit an eight-month low. Japan’s exports snapped seven months of double-digit growth in October due to slowing car shipments, as global supply constraints hit the country’s major manufacturers. Exports rose 9.4% year-on-year in October, Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday. It followed 13.0% growth in the prior month and was the weakest expansion since a decline in February. Car shipments fell 36.7%.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister announced that the country’s largest city Auckland will reopen its domestic borders from December 15 for fully vaccinated people and those with negative Covid test results, as per reports.
U.S. stocks gained on Tuesday after a strong October retail sales report and better-than-expected third-quarter results from Home Depot and Walmart signaled the U.S. consumer is still ramping up spending even in the face of rising prices.
The latest retail sales figures for October showed consumers were increasing their spending, with sales jumping 1.7%. That compares to a 0.8% increase in the prior month. The report showed broad strength in a number of categories from autos to sporting goods. Online sales were up 10.2% from a year ago. The gains came even as consumer prices surged 6.2% year-over-year last month, inflation not seen since the 1990s.
Domestic markets
Back home, the domestic equity benchmarks tumbled on Tuesday with the Nifty closing below the 18,000 mark. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 396.34 points or 0.65% to 60,322.37. The Nifty 50 index lost 110.25 points or 0.61% to 17,999.20.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 560.67 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 577.34 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 November, provisional data showed.