Indian benchmark indices are expected to open flat on Wednesday, with Gift Nifty indicating a muted start to trading. | Photo Credit: iStockphoto

Indian markets are likely to open flat on Wednesday, according to trading at Gift Nifty.

The focus has now shifted to the ongoing results season, and performance so far has been good.

Global cues remain supportive

Global stocks are positive, with beaten-down Korean markets showing resilience. Overnight, the US stocks closed in the green, even as IBM plunged over 25 per cent. Meanwhile, Indian exporters, especially in labour-intensive sectors such as apparel, leather, footwear and textiles, are reporting a surge in enquiries from British buyers ahead of the implementation of the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement from today, as brands move to capitalise on duty-free access for Indian products.

India-UK CETA boosts export prospects

Kirit Bhansali, Chairman, GJPEC for the India – UK CETA, said, “The first jewellery export consignment to the United Kingdom under the India–UK CETA is a defining milestone for India’s gem and jewellery industry. “The inaugural shipment, comprising $10 million worth of gold, diamond, silver and platinum jewellery from 27 exporters across six cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Chennai reflects the industry’s readiness to leverage the unprecedented opportunities created by this landmark agreement,” he said adding that India–UK CETA eliminates UK import tariffs of up to 4% and gives Indian exporters a significant competitive advantage in the UK’s $4 billion jewellery import market.

With zero-duty market access, we expect India’s gem and jewellery exports to the UK to grow from around US$754 million in 2025 to nearly US$2.5 billion over the next three years, he added.

Gift Nifty at 24,045 indicates that the market may open slightly negative.

Wall Street gains despite IBM plunge

Vikram Kasat, Head Advisory, PL Capital, said: US Stock pops from stellar bank earnings on Tuesday battled with IBM’s drop after a dismal showing, creating a tug-of-war in the Dow Jones for much of the day until the index managed to pull off a late-breaking gain. Dow closed just above the flatline at 0.02%. Nasdaq was up 0.9%, and the S&P 500 finished up 0.4%. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs all reported earnings that beat expectations and strong revenue from equities trading.

“Meanwhile, IBM’s stock tanked more than 25% after releasing preliminary results that fell far short of expectations. CEO Arvind Krishna blamed the revenue shortfall on a sudden change in spending priorities, explaining that clients diverted purchases away from IBM’s products to AI hardware and memory chips.”

Oil eases; analysts favour stock-specific approach

Oil prices surged earlier today, but backed off their highs after President Donald Trump dumped plans to charge a 20% fee for ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.

Hitesh Rathi, Technical Analyst - Equity & Derivatives, Angel One, said participants should continue to adopt a stock-specific approach at the current juncture, given the clear absence of any meaningful directional momentum in the frontline indices. Intermittent bouts of profit-taking or short-term corrections may be utilised as opportunities to accumulate relatively stronger stocks and sectors, provided the overall technical structure remains constructive, and the risk-reward profile is more favourable.

Published on July 15, 2026