Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity markets held their gains till the end of the session helped by buying in banking and financial stocks. Traders are now focusing towards India’s Consumer Price Index data, which slated to be released later in a day. Markets maintained firm trade throughout the day. As for broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index ended in green. 

Markets made positive start and remained higher tracking gains in global counterparts. Investors ignored the report that India’s industrial production turned negative as it contracted by 0.1 per cent in August, mainly due to a decline in the mining and power generation sectors’ output, in addition to an almost flat expansion in the manufacturing sector. Traders took support as the Income-Tax (I-T) Department’s latest data showed that India’s net direct tax collection, after adjusting for refunds, grew 18.35 per cent to Rs 11.3 trillion between April 1 and October 10 of FY25. In the same period last year, tax collection stood at Rs 9.51 trillion. In afternoon session, markets continued to trade in fine fettle even after India’s wholesale inflation accelerated to 1.84 per cent in September on an annual basis, as against 1.31 per cent in August due to surge in food prices. Sentiments were upbeat with Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Amardeep Singh Bhatia, stating that the government is targeting to provide access to the PM GatiShakti national master plan (NMP) portal to the private sector this year, and discussions are underway for details. He said there are some layers of data, which are sensitive in nature on the NMP and those should not be exposed. Finally, Nifty and Sensex settled above the psychological 25,100 and 81,900 levels, respectively. 

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red after data showed China's exports and imports grew far less than expected in September. A much-anticipated Chinese stimulus announcement over the weekend also failed to inspire confidence among investors. Asian markets ended mostly in green as traders react to the report showing producer prices in the U.S. were unexpectedly unchanged in September, reinforcing optimism the US Fed will continue lowering interest rates in the coming months. Back home, Crisil in its latest report has said that the profitability of small finance banks (SFB), measured in terms of return of assets (RoA), will moderate around 40 basis points to about 1.7 per cent this fiscal (FY25) from 2.1 per cent in last financial year due to lower net interest margins (NIM) and higher credit costs.

The BSE Sensex ended at 81,973.05, up by 591.69 points or 0.73% after trading in a range of 81,541.20 and 82,072.17. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.28%, while Small cap index was up by 0.06%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.53%, Bankex up by 1.03%, IT up by 1.01%, TECK up by 0.88%, Consumer Durables up by 0.69%, while Basic Materials down by 0.31%, Metal down by 0.14%, Oil & Gas down by 0.06% were the losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 2.86%, HDFC Bank up by 2.29%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.02%, ITC up by 1.72% and Indusind Bank up by 1.70%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.85%, Tata Steel down by 1.49%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.23%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.67% and Nestle down by 0.38% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, India’s wholesale inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) increased to 1.84% in September 2024 from a four-month low of 1.31% it had hit in the previous month due to increase in prices of food articles, food products, other manufacturing, manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers, manufacture of machinery & equipment, etc. The WPI had witnessed a slight contraction of -0.1% in September 2023.

The Component wise, primary articles index, having weight of 22.62%, increased by 0.41% to 195.7 (provisional) in September 2024 from 194.9 (provisional) for the month of August 2024, as prices of minerals, non-food articles and food articles rise. However, fuel & power index, having weight of 13.15%, declined by 0.81% to 146.9 (provisional) in September 2024 from 148.1(provisional) for the month of August 2024, as price of mineral oils declined, while index for coal remained constant.

Further, manufactured products, having weight of 64.23% inched up by 0.14% to 141.8 (provisional) in September 2024 from 141.6 (provisional) for the month of August 2024. Out of the 22 NIC two-digit groups for manufactured products, 10 groups witnessed an increase in prices, 9 groups witnessed a decrease in prices and 3 groups witnessed no change in prices.

WPI Food Index consisting of 'food articles' from primary articles group and 'food product' from manufactured products group increased from 193.2 in August, 2024 to 195.3 in September, 2024. The annual rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index increased from 3.26% in August, 2024 to 9.47% in September, 2024.

The CNX Nifty ended at 25,127.95, up by 163.70 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 25,017.50 and 25,159.75. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 4.02%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.76%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.31%, HDFC Bank up by 2.25% and Larsen & Toubro up by 2.08%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 2.07%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.87%, Tata Steel down by 1.46%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.28% and Adani Enterprises down by 1.15% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 3.49 points or 0.04% to 8,250.16 and France’s CAC was down by 24.29 points or 0.32% to 7,553.60. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was up by 39.95 points or 0.21% to 19,413.78.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Monday tracking Wall Street gains last Friday after report showing producer prices in the US were unexpectedly unchanged in September, reinforced optimism that the US Fed will continue cutting interest rates in the coming months. Chinese shares lead gained after the finance minister said over the weekend that more stimulus is needed for its slowing economy. Moreover, South Korean shares rose by tracking strong advances in technology and financial shares. Meanwhile, Japanese market was closed for National Sports Day holiday.