Indian equity benchmarks continued their bull run for the fifth consecutive day and managed to close at fresh record closing highs on Wednesday, aided by broad sectoral gains and information technology (IT) stocks. Upbeat Q1 earnings from India Inc and FIIs inflows also helped the markets maintain their winning momentum. Domestic equity markets made positive start as traders took encouragement after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) retained forecast for India's economic growth at 6.4 per cent for this fiscal year and 6.7 per cent for the next, as it's bullish that robust domestic demand will continue to support the region's recovery. Some support also came with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stating that various issues surrounding cryptocurrencies were discussed at a key G20 meeting and India's inputs will play an important role in formulating a comprehensive global policy for the new-age assets. However, markets erased their gains in afternoon deals and traded flat as some concern came with International Monetary Fund Managing Director (MD) Kristalina Georgieva's statement that the medium-term growth prospects for the global economy remain weak, and elevated food and fertilizer prices are particularly worrying. Georgieva said inflation could remain higher for longer, requiring even more monetary policy tightening. But, markets once again gained traction to close higher, taking support from the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Naren Goenk's statement that decline in Chinese garment exports to Japan provides an immense opportunity for the Indian apparel industry to boost shipments to the island nation. He said a strong Indian garment industry with its unique offerings has a huge scope for Japanese trading companies to source from India. Some support came with a report stating that withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes by Reserve Bank on May 19 and the subsequent near total return of the currency to the system has buoyed deposit accretion to a six-year high of Rs 191.6 lakh crore in June. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 302.30 points or 0.45% to 67,097.44 and the CNX Nifty was up by 83.90 points or 0.42% to 19,833.15.

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday. The strength on markets extended the upward trend seen for much of recent days. Encouraging inflation data helped trigger the recent advance, as traders grow increasingly optimistic the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its interest rate hikes. The Fed is still widely expected to raise rates by another quarter point next week, but traders are hopeful that will be the last. Data indicating the economy has held up relatively well in spite of the Fed's aggressive rate hikes has also led to confidence the economy will avoid a hard landing. Largely upbeat earnings news has added to the positive sentiment, with regional banks U.S. Bancorp (USB), Ally Financial (ALLY) and Citizens Financial (CFG) posting standout gains after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings. Meanwhile, traders shrugged off a Commerce Department report showing a sharp pullback in housing starts in the month of June. The Commerce Department said housing starts plunged by 8.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.434 million in June after spiking by 15.7 percent to a revised rate of 1.559 million in May. Street had expected housing starts to plummet by 9.3 percent to a rate of 1.480 million from the 1.631 million originally reported for the previous month. The report said building permits also tumbled by 3.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.440 million in June after surging by 5.6 percent to a revised rate of 1.496 million in May. On the economic data front, Telecom stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, extending the recovery from the sell-off seen on Friday and Monday. The NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index spiked by 3.7 percent, climbing further off its lowest closing level in over three years.

Crude oil futures ended marginally lower on Wednesday after official data showed a smaller-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended July 14th. Data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed U.S. crude inventories dropped by $0.708 million barrels last week, as against forecast for a drop of about 2.44 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles fell by 1.066 million barrels last week, less than an expected decline of 1.577 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose by 0.014 million barrels, smaller than the forecast for a 0.460 million barrels drop. Besides, a stronger dollar weighed as well on crude oil prices. Benchmark crude oil futures for August delivery fell $0.40 or about 0.5 percent to settle at $75.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for September delivery lost $0.10 or about 0.12 percent to settle at $79.46 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar on Wednesday weighed down by the rebound in the American currency in global markets and firm crude oil prices. Traders were worried with International Monetary Fund Managing Director (MD) Kristalina Georgieva's statement that the medium-term growth prospects for the global economy remain weak, and elevated food and fertilizer prices are particularly worrying. Georgieva said inflation could remain higher for longer, requiring even more monetary policy tightening. On the global front, sterling slid on Wednesday after lower-than-expected British inflation data suggested the Bank of England might not have to raise rates quite as high as had been expected, while the latest dovish comments from the Bank of Japan caused the yen to soften. Finally, the rupee ended at 82.10 (Provisional), weaker by 6 paise from its previous close of 82.04 on Tuesday.

The FIIs as per Wednesday's data were net buyers in both equity and debt segments. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 11167.74 crore against gross selling of Rs 8640.13 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 672.94 crore with gross sales of Rs 234.13 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 8.36 crore against gross selling of Rs 8.54 crore.

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday on the back of stronger-than-expected quarterly results. Asian markets are trading mixed on Thursday ahead of a slew of economic data across the region. Indian markets posted fresh intraday and closing highs on Wednesday despite the market turning a bit volatile after a firm start. Today, markets are likely to get cautious start amid mixed global cues. There will be some volatility amid weekly F&O expiry later in the day. Investors may also look to take some profits after successive days of gains. There will be some cautiousness as S&P Global Ratings reportedly said India is unlikely to embark on any major new reforms till the 2024 elections, but momentum could pick up if the next government comes with a strong mandate. However, some respite may come later in the day amid foreign fund inflows. According to the provisional data available on the NSE, Foreign institutional investors (FII) net purchased shares worth Rs 1,165.47 crore on July 19. Some support will come as World Bank President Ajay Banga said amidst risk of a global slowdown in the early part of next year, India is expected to remain shielded from its effects due to robust domestic consumption. Traders may take note of a private report that India's chances of missing the budget deficit target for this fiscal year is very slim at the moment despite weather hindrances, divestment revenue risks and meek corporate tax collections, thanks to support from the central bank. There will be some reaction in edible oil industry stocks as trade body SEA said oilmeal exports fell 35 per cent in June to 2,80,001 tonne, mainly due to lower demand of rapeseed meals from overseas. Exports of oilmeals stood at 4,29,616 tonne in the same month last year. Meanwhile, Reliance Industries will be in focus as investors eye the listing of Jio Financial Services. Besides, investors continue to look ahead for the quarterly earnings. Nifty 50 heavyweights Infosys and Hindustan Unilever will be reporting their June quarter results later in the day.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• State Bank of India has received approval from Competent Authority of the Bank to set up a new Trustee Company as a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Bank. 
• Tata Consultancy Services has expanded long-standing relationship with GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. 
• HCL Technologies has launched its digital marketing technology solutions, Advantage Experience platform and Advantage Content Connect, on the Sitecore Partner Solution Catalog and Sitecore Marketplace. 
• GAIL (India) has entered into a partnership with LanzaTech Global, Inc.