Indian equity benchmarks witnessed a choppy ride in intra-day trades but selective buying in late trades helped benchmark indices to end higher for fourth session in a row on Wednesday. Markets made a cautious start in tandem with weak global cues and foreign fund outflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,725.11 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Traders also remained wary as S&P Global Ratings Economist (Asia Pacific) Vishrut Rana stated that inflation in India is likely to remain elevated in the near terms but government policies will prevent it from rising further. In July, the consumer price index based retail inflation spiked to 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July, with specific food commodities mainly driving the increase. Markets extended losses in afternoon deals, as sentiments remained down-beat with Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board (FSB) warning that higher interest rates alongside a slowing growth outlook, could impair the capacity of borrowers to service historically high levels of debt. However, markets erased all of their losses in final minutes of trade to end higher, as traders found solace with private report that Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the central bank is firmly focused on bringing down inflation to 4 per cent, adding that monetary policy must be forward-looking. The RBI remains prepared to undertake policy responses to deal with supply shocks which have become more frequent with profound implications. Some support came with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stating that there has been a threefold increase in income tax filing in each bracket, an indication of significant improvement in the formalisation of the economy. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 100.26 points or 0.15% to 65,880.52 and the CNX Nifty was up by 36.15 points or 0.18% to 19,611.05.

The US markets ended in red on Wednesday amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for the global economy following the recent release of disappointing data from overseas. A recent surge in oil prices added to the negative sentiment amid worries higher oil prices could keep inflation at elevated levels. The price of crude oil has reached its highest levels since last November after Saudi Arabia and Russia extended supply cuts until the end of the year. Besides, markets saw further downside following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management (PMI) showing an unexpected acceleration in the pace of U.S. service sector growth in the month of August. The ISM said its services PMI rose to 54.5 in August from 52.7 in July, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. The increase surprised participants, who had expected the index to edge down to 52.5. The data added to recent concerns about the outlook for interest rates, as the report also showed an acceleration in the pace of price growth. The prices index rose to 58.9 in August from 56.8 in July. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in the month of July. The report said the trade deficit increased to $65.0 billion in July from a revised $63.7 billion in June. Street had expected the trade deficit to rise to $65.8 billion from the $65.5 billion originally reported for the previous month. The wider trade deficit came as the value of imports climbed by 1.7 percent to $316.7 billion, while the value of exports rose by 1.6 percent to $251.7 billion.

Crude oil futures magnified recent gains and ended higher on Wednesday. Oil prices continued to benefit from Russia and Saudi Arabia's decision to extend their voluntary additional production cuts till the end of the year. Further, expectations of a drop in U.S. crude inventory last week contributed as well to the uptick in oil prices. Benchmark crude oil futures for October delivery rose $0.85 or 1 percent to settle at $87.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for November delivery surged $0.56 or 0.6 percent to settle at $90.60 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended lower against dollar on Wednesday, on increased demand for the greenback from importers and banks. This is the fifth consecutive session when the rupee was traded lower against dollar. Sentiments remained fragile as S&P Global Ratings Economist (Asia Pacific) Vishrut Rana stated that inflation in India is likely to remain elevated in the near terms but government policies will prevent it from rising further. In July, the consumer price index based retail inflation spiked to 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July, with specific food commodities mainly driving the increase. Besides, elevated crude oil prices and strength of the American currency weighed on investor sentiments. On the global front, dollar held close to a six-month peak as jitters over China and global growth weighed on risk appetite, while the yen strengthened as Japan's top currency diplomat sent a warning about the currency after it earlier dropped to a 10-month low. Finally, the rupee ended at 83.13 (Provisional), weaker by 9 paise from its previous close of 83.04 on Tuesday.

The FIIs as per Wednesday's data were net sellers in both equity and debt segments. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 8574.56 crore against gross selling of Rs 9886.13 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 266.89 crore with gross sales of Rs 1065.62 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 22.12 crore against gross selling of Rs 19.81 crore.

The US markets ended lower on Wednesday as rising oil prices revived inflation fears and Boston Fed President Susan Collins warned that more policy tightening could be warranted. Asian markets are trading mostly in red on Thursday ahead of China's trade figures, due out later in the day. Indian markets extended their winning run into the fourth straight trading session and ended higher on Wednesday, thanks to the late buying in index heavyweights - HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel and ITC. Today, start of the session is likely to be cautious amid weak global cues. However, some support may come as Chairman, CII national committee on EXIM, Sanjay Budhia, said negotiating trade pacts with certain G20 countries and diversifying exports to regions like Brazil and Mexico could help India boost outbound shipments and manufacturing in the years to come. He said that tapping into opportunities in G20 countries is crucial for India's economic growth and global influence. Traders may take note of Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das' statement that the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has played a phenomenal role in the FinTech revolution in India. He added Indian fintech industry projected to generate around $200 billion in revenue by 2030. Besides, Nigeria is seeking historic partnerships with Indian businesses to expand its investments in the country, especially at a time when Nigeria is experiencing rapid economic growth. There will be some buzz in renewable energy sector stocks as the Union Cabinet approved a scheme for providing viability gap funding (VGF) for developing battery storage of 4 gigawatt (Gw) by 2030-31. The VGF for the battery energy storage system (BESS) will have an initial outlay of Rs 9,400 crore and this will include a budgetary grant of Rs 3,700 crore. The scheme is aimed at supporting the energy storage needs of the renewable energy sector, especially solar and wind. Tyre stocks will be in focus as Crisil said production volume of Indian tyre makers is set to rise 6-8% on-year to a new high of 2.7 million tonne in fiscal 2024, driven mainly by higher replacement demand, and steady demand from commercial vehicles (CVs) and passenger vehicles (PVs). There will be some reaction in petrochemicals industry related stocks as rating agency Icra revised the outlook on the petrochemicals and basic chemicals industries to negative from stable due to weak demand and global supply glut. It said outlook on specialty chemicals remains stable, with profitability expected to moderate in FY2024, but not trigger an outlook change at this stage, added that the petrochemical and basic chemicals industries are likely to face pressure on operating rates and profitability. Tea industry stocks will be in limelight as Tea Board data showed that tea exports during January to June declined 0.81 per cent to 96.49 million kg as against 97.28 million kg in the corresponding period a year ago.

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

• Tata Steel and global technology leader ABB have signed a MoU and will work together to co-create innovative models and technologies to help reduce the carbon footprint of steel production. 
• State Bank of India has entered into an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh Food Processing Society to upgrade and support the establishment of at least 7,500 micro food processing units in the state. 
• Tech Mahindra has launched Ops amplifAIer solution.  
• Tata Motors has supplied 400 state-of-the art Starbus EV buses to the Delhi Transport Corporation, via its subsidiary TML CV Mobility Solutions, as a part of its larger order to supply, maintain and operate 1,500 low-floor, air-conditioned electric buses for a period 12-years.