Stock market today: GIFT NIFTY futures trade flat, global market cues remain mixed, crude oil extends gains and more

Indian benchmark indices are expected to open on a cautious note on Wednesday amid mixed global cues. The US markets continued to fall on Tuesday after the tariff war intensified between the US and Canada. President Trump announced 50% tariff on Canadian steel imports, which he later reduced to 25%, will come into effect from Wednesday, March 12. Asian markets trade in green with cautious stance amid intensifying tariff war concerns.

On the Geopolitical side, Ukraine has agreed on a 30-day ceasefire in the 3-year-long war between Russia and Ukraine. The US President said they would also get Russia to agree on to the terms of the ceasefire and start the talks to end the war forever between the two nations.

US markets

The US markets closed in red on a highly volatile day. The Dow Jones and S&P500 lost the most with 1.14% and 0.78% losses and NASDAQ closed with little 0.18% losses on Tuesday. The US markets await key inflation data set to be released later in the day, which could shape the expectations on Federal Reserve policy rates.

Asian Markets

The Asian markets traded in green on Japanese, Korean and Chinese indices with little gains. Despite the positive gains, the market outlook remained cautious on intensifying tariff ware between the US and its key trading partners.

Crude Oil

The crude oil prices extended the overnight gains on Wednesday morning, amid expectations of surplus oil production reduced. The IEA cut the surplus forecast for 2025 as they expect a decline in production from Iranian and Venezuelan flows. The WTI crude oil prices traded above $66 per barrel and Brent crude oil prices hovered around $70 per barrel.

FII and DII data

The Foreign institutional investors sold Indian equities worth ₹2,823 crore on Tuesday and slightly reduced their short positions to 1.78 lakh contracts in the derivatives market.On the contrary, the DIIs bought equities worth ₹2001 crore.