Stock Market Live Updates Today: Sensex climbs 288 points, Nifty rises nearly 77 points in early trade

Sensex, Nifty trade flat after four-day rally as investors track US midterm results Indian equity markets traded largely flat on Wednesday after four consecutive sessions of gains, as investors remained cautious ahead of the outcome of the US midterm elections. The election results could have wider implications for the conflict in the Middle East, energy prices, global trade and investments in artificial intelligence data centres. These developments are closely watched by Indian investors, as higher energy prices and the domestic market's limited exposure to AI-linked stocks have weighed on equities this year. The benchmark Nifty 50 rose 0.1% to 23,840.15, while the Sensex gained 0.2% to 77,080.95 by 9.17 am IST. Fourteen of the 16 major sectoral indices fell at the opening, although losses were marginal. The broader small-cap and mid-cap indices declined 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively..Sterling and Swiss franc gain against dollar Sterling rose 0.4% to $1.3460, with traders awaiting the Bank of England's policy announcement on Thursday. The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee is expected to raise interest rates for the first time since August 2023. The dollar weakened 0.9% against the Swiss franc to 0.8133. Meanwhile, China's offshore yuan eased 0.1% to 6.6782 per dollar. It extended losses after recording its biggest one-day drop since May 15 on Tuesday. The decline followed a move by the People's Bank of China to raise the amount of foreign currency financial institutions must hold in reserve, aimed at slowing the yuan's rally..AI regulation concerns weigh on dollar Investors are also assessing what a possible Democratic victory could mean for the artificial intelligence sector. Concerns over tighter regulation of AI and its impact on US economic growth added to pressure on the dollar. "The price action is consistent with concerns about greater scrutiny on AI in the event of a Democratic sweep, and that is reflected in the underperformance of the Nasdaq and worries about US growth should AI face greater regulation," said Moh Siong Sim, currency strategist at OCBC. However, Sim said passing legislation would remain difficult even if Democrats won control of Congress. "Even in the event of a Democratic sweep, it is still difficult to pass legislation at the federal level, given the high hurdle under President Trump," he said, referring to the president's veto power. .Dollar slides as Democrats make early gains in US midterm elections The US dollar fell sharply against major currencies on Wednesday as early results from the US midterm elections showed Democrats making strong gains in their bid to wrest control of Congress from President Donald Trump's Republicans. Investors sold stocks, moved away from the dollar and sought the safety of US Treasuries. The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1249, while the yen strengthened 0.7% to 157.63 per dollar. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.3% to 101.4. Democrat Annie Andrews won South Carolina's Senate seat, defeating Republican Darline Graham in a state Trump carried by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024. Her victory, along with Democrat Roy Cooper's win in North Carolina, gave the party two of the four additional seats it needs to take control of the Senate. Prediction markets also indicated growing expectations of a Democratic sweep of Congress. "The US dollar could sell off further from here, because a Democratic sweep would limit government spending over Trump's term," said Carol Kong, currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Kong said investors were also watching the risk of an escalation in the Middle East following the elections. "If the Republicans do lose control of the House and the Senate, what will the President do? He previously flagged that he will restart a bombing campaign in Iran after the election, so we are watching that very closely," she said. "If he does ramp up the aggression in the conflict, then we could see oil prices jump sharply higher, and that will support the US dollar."