Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 are likely to open on a flat note on September 18, tracking cues from GIFT Nifty trading near 25,458, a short while ago this morning.

That apart, India’s trade deficit widened to a 10-month high of $29.7 billion in August, as imports hit a record high of $64.4 billion on doubling gold imports. Exports contracted for the second month in a row to $34.7 billion due to softening oil prices and muted global demand.

Additionally, the country's wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation eased to a four-month low of 1.31 per cent on an annual basis in August, from 2.04 per cent in July, data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the 30-share benchmark index ended at 83079.66 up by 90.88 points or by 0.11 % and then NSE Nifty was at 25418.55 up by 34.8 points or by 0.14 %.

On the global front, markets in the Asia-Pacific region opened mixed on Wednesday, following gains on Wall Street that saw both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average record new highs.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down slightly, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.74 per cent and the broad-based Topix was up 0.48 per cent.

That apart, the US stock markets ended nearly flat after hitting record highs on Tuesday, while the dollar stood firm as strong economic data allayed fears of a slowdown and investors braced for the Federal Reserve's expected move to cut interest rates for the first time in more than four years.

The S&P 500 rose to an all-time intraday high at one point in the session, but flattened in afternoon trading and closed 0.03 per cent higher at 5,634.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.04 per cent, to 41,606.18.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite bucked the Wall Street trend to close 0.20 per cent higher at 17,628.06, while MSCI's All-World index rose 0.04 per cent to 828.72.

Back home, Top traded Volumes on NSE Nifty – Tata Motors Ltd. 44516613.00, Tata Steel Ltd. 18275113.00, NTPC Ltd. 14432501.00, Oil And Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. 11873436.00, ICICI Bank Ltd. 11513121.00, On NSE, total number of shares traded was 356.49 Crore and total turnover stood at Rs. 107675.46 Crore.

On NSE Future and Options, total number of contracts traded in index futures was 232347 with a total turnover of Rs. 16027.70 Crore. Along with this total number of contracts traded in stock futures were 1128014 with a total turnover of Rs. 94649.98 Crore. Total numbers of contracts for index options were 584760447 with a total turnover of Rs. 36932014.60 Crore. and total numbers of contracts for stock options were 6925273 with a total turnover of Rs. 612370.00 Crore.

The FIIs on 17/09/2024 stood as net buyer in equity and debt. Gross equity purchased stood at Rs. 25484.85 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs. Crore, while the gross equity sold stood at Rs. 23972.62 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs. Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity and debt reported were Rs. 1512.23 Crore and Rs.