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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.

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.

Back home, 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.

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