NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on July 8

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to stage a gap down opening on Wednesday, July 8, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Gandhinagar dropped 198 points to 24,242 amid weak cues from Asian markets and spike in crude prices.

The Indian equity benchmarks snapped their four-day winning streak on Tuesday as investors resorted to profit booking at higher levels.

The SENSEX ended 104 points lower at 78,181 and NIFTY50 index declined 32 points to close at 24,399.

For most part of the day, benchmarks traded with a positive bias but witnessed profit booking in the last hour of trade owing to heightened volatility as weekly NIFTY futures and option contracts expired.

Asian markets

Asian shares were trading lower weighed down by a selloff in artificial intelligence related shares as market participants turned cautious about their expensive valuations.

Meanwhile, a spike in crude prices after United States military launched a new attack on Iran and cancelled the license to sell oil after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz putting pressure on the delicate ceasefire.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.64%, China's Shanghai Composite was trading on a flat note and South Korea's KOSPI dropped 2.2%.

Wall Street update

US stocks ended lower on Tuesday dragged down by a selloff in AI shares after Samsung's earnings raised concerns about expensive valuations of the sector.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.25%, S&P 500 index fell 0.45% and tech heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.16%.

Crude oil update

Brent crude prices rose as much as 3.3% to touch an intraday high of $76.6 per barrel after US revoked Iran's license to sell oil after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth ₹393 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors sold stocks worth ₹383 crore, as per NSE data.

FIIs have so far this year sold shares worth ₹2,70,439 crore, data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed.

Stocks to watch

Brent crude climbed above $75 a barrel, while WTI rose past $72 after attacks on multiple tankers near the Strait of Hormuz heightened supply concerns.

Upstream oil producers, oil marketing companies (OMCs), aviation, paint and tyre stocks are likely to react to the sharp move in crude prices.

In a regulatory filing, the company said the Board has approved the raising of funds by way of a "Further Public Offering through a fresh issue of equity shares by the company aggregating up to ₹1,500 crore".

The decision is subject to the receipt of the approval of the shareholders of the company, the Department of Fertilisers, and the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd is one of the leading fertiliser companies in the country.

This includes a tax payment of ₹30,600 crore across the value chain, providing a stable revenue base supporting public finances, said the report by Steward Redqueen, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based global impact and sustainability consultancy.

It is equivalent to "1.3% of total state tax revenues" and "0.1% of the GDP", said the report, which was released on Tuesday here.

"For every ₹100 spent on beer by consumers, approximately ₹63 flows to state governments, supporting public services and infrastructure across states," it added.

In 2024-25, UBL purchased ₹6,900 crore worth of goods and services from domestic suppliers, including ₹700 crore spent on agricultural sourcing from Indian farmers.

Non-retail investors placed bids for more than 2.10 crore shares against the 59.66 lakh shares reserved for them in the base offer, according to exchange data.

Following the strong demand, the government decided to exercise the full greenshoe option, DIPAM Secretary Arunish Chawla said in a post on X.

The OFS opens for retail investors on July 8. At the indicative price of ₹1,414.97 per share, the bids received from institutional investors were valued at over ₹2,900 crore.

In an exchange filing on Tuesday, the jewellery retailer said the repayments were made in line with its objective of becoming debt-free this quarter. The settlement agreement with the consortium banks was signed on September 30, 2024.

The company said the repayment marks a significant milestone in its ongoing turnaround journey. It added that it has now cleared all outstanding dues under the settlement terms with two consortium lenders.

The plant will have an annual capacity of 2.40 lakh units.

To support this new product line, the company's board of directors has approved the setting up of a greenfield manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad), Maharashtra, with a proposed capital expenditure of approximately ₹320 crore, Uno Minda Ltd said in a regulatory filing.

The facility is expected to commence operations by Q4 FY28, it added.

On its foray into the four-wheeler passenger vehicle seating systems segment, the company said it is one of the highest value product categories in the automotive supply chain.

The transaction, which includes a fresh capital infusion, acquisition of the entire shareholding held by the erstwhile promoters and the completion of the mandatory open offer, marks one of the largest deals in India's quick-service restaurant (QSR) sector.

Following the completion of the transaction, Inspira Global now holds a 41.78% stake in Restaurant Brands Asia, the company said in a statement.