Equities quiet ahead of more rate hints; Indian shares plummet

While Indian equities fell from record highs as early vote counting revealed the BJP did not secure as broad a victory as predicted, other Asian markets on Tuesday slowly declined, retreating from recent gains as investors anticipated further clues on interest rates this week.

Wall Street's uneven overnight closing provided lacklustre clues for regional stocks. Technology stocks increased in tandem with NVIDIA’s advances, while wider markets were quiet due to indications of slowing economic growth.

In Asian trading, U.S. stock futures were flat as investors turned their attention to the impending labour statistics, which might provide more clues about interest rates.

In the upcoming days, several of central bank meetings are scheduled. Rate cuts are scheduled for this week by the European Central Bank and the Bank of Canada, while no change in rates is anticipated from the Federal Reserve the next week.

Nifty 50 in India declines as Modi targets a close victory in 2024. The Indian index is currently down 6%.

Early results of the vote counting indicated that the Indian National Congress, the opposition party, was gaining momentum in the lower house of parliament and that the ruling BJP party was likely to win the general elections in 2024 with a less decisive victory than predicted by exit surveys.

Wider Asian markets fluctuated between flat and low as investors watched the U.S. labour statistics and a series of important central bank meetings closely, which kept sentiment muted.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)