Indian equity benchmarks Nifty50 and Sensex are likely to start Wednesday’s session in the red amid negative moves across other major markets around the globe as investors remain concerned about the US debt ceiling talks ahead of a June 1 deadline.

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Analysts say the current juncture in the market can be used for selecting stocks in specific sectors, especially from the midcap and smallcap segments. 

“We expect sector rotation to continue, with midcap particularly gaining strength,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head-Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Stay tuned on Zeebiz.com to find out what could impact your trade today. We have collated a list of the top 10 things to know that could impact the market:

  • SGX Nifty futures: Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty futures — an early indicator of the Nifty 50 index — were down 72.5 points or 0.4 per cent at 18,289 at the last count ahead of the opening bell on Dalal Street, suggesting a negative start in the Indian share market on Wednesday.
  • Wall Street: Overnight in the US, the three main equity indices finished sharply lower and short-term Treasury yields shot up as investor jitters grew over a lack of progress in US debt limit talks. The S&P 500 benchmark index declined 1.1 per cent to end at 4,145.6. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.3 per cent to 12,560.3 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.7 per cent to 33,055.5.
  • Asian markets: Equities in most other Asian markets were in the red in early hours on Wednesday, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan trading 0.8 per cent lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite each were down 0.5-1 per cent while South Korea’s KOSPI was flat with a negative bias.
  • Rupee vs dollar: The rupee traded in a narrow range on Tuesday and settled lower by one paisa at 82.85 against the US dollar. 
  • Dollar index: The US dollar hit a two-month high against a basket of currencies on Tuesday as the lack of progress in US debt ceiling talks hurt investors' appetite for risk. The dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of six major peers other than the rupee, rose to 103.7 during the session, its highest since March 20.
  • Crude oil: Crude oil prices rose on Tuesday on forecasts for a tighter gasoline market and a warning from the Saudi energy minister to speculators that raised the prospect of further OPEC+ output cuts. Brent crude futures rose by 85 cents or 1.1 per cent to settle at $76.8 a barrel and the West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) ended higher by 86 cents or 1.2 per cent at $72.9 a barrel.
  • Gold rate today: Gold prices were steady on Wednesday as investors assessed the possibility of further rate hikes by the Fed. Spot gold held steady at $1,976 per ounce and US gold futures were up 0.1 per cent at $1,977.1 an ounce.
  • US debt ceiling update: Representatives of US President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans ended another round of debt ceiling talks on Tuesday with no signs of progress as the deadline to raise the government's $31.4 trillion borrowing limit or risk default ticked closer. The two parties remain deeply divided about how to rein in the federal deficit, with the Democrats arguing wealthy Americans and businesses should pay more taxes while the Republicans want spending cuts.
  • Q4 results: Index heavyweights such as Hindalco Industries along with Cummins India, Nalco and India Cements are expected to announce their January-March earnings on Wednesday, a day after companies such as Ashok Leyland, Biocon, NMDC and Dixon Tech reported their numbers.
  • FII, DII flow: Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net purchased Indian shares worth Rs 182.5 crore on Thursday whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were also net buyers to the tune of Rs 397.3 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

(With inputs from agencies)