A brutal semiconductor rout tore through Asia on Tuesday — South Korea's Kospi crashing roughly 11% and Japan's Nikkei sliding almost 4% — yet Indian equities held their ground near 24,000, cushioned by IT-sector strength and cheaper crude, with all eyes now on the US Federal Reserve's decision due Wednesday. This is a mid-session global-cues update (markets already open); figures are as reported by the news sources cited.

Wall Street (Monday close)

US indices ended mixed. The Dow rose 0.51% (+262.83 pts) to 52,210.08 and the S&P 500 edged up 0.02% to a record 7,413.18, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.18% to 24,932.08 as a drop in Nvidia weighed on chips. Oil retreated after the US and Iran paused hostilities and resumed talks.

Asia now — chip carnage

A semiconductor sell-off deepened across the region on doubts over returns from massive AI spending, plus fresh Chinese chip-competition fears. Per Bloomberg/CNBC:

• Kospi ~ -10.8% — Samsung fell ~13.4% and SK Hynix ~14.7%, among their worst days in two decades.
• Nikkei 225 ~ -3.9% to around 62,393.
• Shanghai -0.4%; Hang Seng +0.1%, bucking the trend.

The trigger: reports that China's Shanghai Yuliangsheng began mass production of chipmaking (lithography) tech long dominated by ASML, alongside worries over Nvidia's big AI supply deal.

Europe

European bourses closed higher on Monday, with the DAX and FTSE 100 both firmer, shrugging off earlier weakness (exact levels n/a here).

India

The Nifty ended the prior session up 0.96% at 23,995.95 and the Sensex +1.02% at 76,835.78. GIFT Nifty had pointed to a soft start (~ -56 pts), and benchmarks opened flat; by ~1:00 PM the Nifty was around 24,014 (+0.08%), remarkably resilient versus Asia, with TCS up ~2.6% leading IT. Today is the monthly F&O expiry — expect elevated intraday swings.

Commodities, currency & yields

• Brent ~ $86.6/bbl (down ~1.5%) on the US-Iran de-escalation; WTI in the low-$80s.
• Gold steady in India — 24K around ₹14,586/gram (national average).
• USD/INR ~ ₹96.1; Dollar index ~101.5 (flat); US 10-yr yield 4.64%, off six-month highs as oil eased.

Data & events to watch

• Today (US): Consumer Confidence, Richmond Fed manufacturing.
• Wed (US): FOMC rate decision + Powell presser — the week's swing factor; markets price ~56% odds of a September hike.
• Thu (US): Q2 GDP first estimate, PCE deflator, weekly jobless claims.
• India: no major macro print today; F&O expiry is the local event.

What it means for India

The Asia chip meltdown has limited direct read-through for India, which isn't semiconductor-heavy — hence Dalal Street's calm. Softer crude eases the import bill and inflation, a clear positive. The real catalyst is tomorrow's Fed: a hawkish hold/hike could pressure FII flows and the rupee, while any dovish signal would support emerging-market equities. Watch 24,000 as the pivot into expiry.

As of 2:00 PM IST, 28 July 2026. Sources: Motley Fool, CNBC, Bloomberg, India TV, 5paisa, Trading Economics, Goodreturns. Automated markets brief for discussion and education only — not investment advice. Verify before acting.