Market Cues Today: Trump-Putin Talks, Fed Rate Cut Hopes And Q1 Earnings In Focus

The domestic stock market ended higher on August 13 in a holiday-shortened week. Investor sentiment was buoyed by growing expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut in September, despite the recent uptick in US inflation. Meanwhile, signs of easing inflation on the domestic front too added to the positive mood.

The benchmark indices closed in the green, with the Sensex climbing 304.32 points, or 0.38 per cent, to end at 80,539.91. Likewise, the Nifty 50 jumped 131.95 points, or 0.54 per cent, to settle at 24,619.35.

On the sectoral front, pharma and healthcare were the top performers in the previous session. The Nifty Pharma index jumped 2.13 per cent, while the Nifty Healthcare index gained 1.73 per cent. On the other hand, the Nifty FMCG index was the only major sectoral laggard, ending slightly in the red with a 0.04 per cent decline.

Broader markets also saw gains. The Nifty MidCap 100 rose 0.63 per cent, and the Nifty SmallCap 100 added 0.66 per cent.

Market Cues Today

Here are the key market cues that are likely to decide the direction of the market today, August 14.

Trump Putin Meeting

US President Donald Trump has warned Russia of “very severe consequences” if President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to end the war in Ukraine during their upcoming meeting in Alaska on August 15. He however did not specify what measures hje will take. The warning came after a virtual call with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which Trump described as “very friendly” and rated “10 out of 10.” He assured that securing a ceasefire will be a top priority in the talks.

If the talks between Trump and Putin fail, it could lead to more tension in global markets. Oil and other commodity prices might rise, and equities as an asset could become more volatile and less attractive as investors will likely turn to safer options like gold or bonds. But if the talks go as planned and there’s hope for a ceasefire, it could bring relief to global markets.

US Fed Rate Cut Hopes

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has vouched for cutting interest rates by half a percentage point at the Federal Reserve’s September meeting. He also suggested there could be more rate cuts after that.

“I think we could go into a series of rate cuts here, starting with a 50 basis point rate cut in September,” he told Bloomberg Surveillance in an interview on August 13. “I think we could go into a series of rate cuts here, starting with a 50 basis point rate cut in September. If you look at any model, we should probably be 150, 175 basis points lower,” Bessent added.

His comments comes after US Bureau of Labour Statistics data showed inflation stayed steady at 2.7 per cent in July. Bessent said the Fed’s main rate should be at least 1.5 percentage points lower than it is now.

Q1 Results Today

The last leg of the earnings season is here and as many as 665 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) are set to report their quarterly results today. Among some of the well-known names are Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Hindustan Copper, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Jindal Poly Films, Parle Products, and Walchandnagar Industries among others.

Market participants will also be reacting to the results released by the companies post-market hours on August 13.

US Markets

US stock markets ended higher on August 13 on hopes that the Federal Reserve might soon start cutting interest rates. This optimisim drove the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to close at fresh record highs for the second consecutive day. Adding to the positive mood, investors felt relieved after July inflation data showed that rising tariffs haven't had a big impact on consumer prices yet.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.04 per cent to close at 44,922.27. The S&P 500 rose 0.32 per cent to 6,466.58, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.14 per cent to end at 21,713.14.

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded mixed in early trade today. Japan's Nikkei 225 was trading down by nearly 1.5 per cent after a six-day really that pushed the index above the 43,000 mark for the first time. South Korea's Kospi too was down 0.40 per cent, and the Hong Kong-based Hang Seng was trading flat with a slight negative bias. China's SSE Composite, however, was trading in the green, up by 0.20 per cent.