Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks reversed their two-day uptrend and ended with cuts of over half a percent on Wednesday, dragged by selling at consumer durables and Banking counters, amid weak cues from the global markets as caution prevailed ahead of next week's U.S. presidential election and Federal Reserve rate decision. After a lackluster start, markets remained below their neutral lines for the whole day, amid continued foreign fund outflows. According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 548.69 crore. Some concern also came as Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas said that no one can predict fuel prices because of the uncertainty that has prevailed in different parts of the world citing tensions in the Middle East. 

A recovery witnessed during the middle of the session and proved to be short-lived, as markets fell sharply to hit day’s low points. Sentiments were pessimistic, as credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has said that a weakness in GDP growth is expected due to higher-than-expected inflation, a weakness in industrial growth, especially manufacturing activities, weak exports and slower growth in net taxes in 1QFY25. The street took a note of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest report stating that the country's foreign exchange reserves cover of imports (on balance of payments basis) stood at 11.2 months. The latest figure in the country's import cover represents a slight decline of one month from the 11.3-month cover recorded at the end of March 2024.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower, after Germany's unemployment rate remained unchanged in September. The labor force survey results from Destatis showed that the unemployment rate came in at adjusted 3.5 percent, the same as in August. The number of unemployed declined 9,000 on month to 1.55 million. On an unadjusted basis, the unemployment rate rose to 3.3 percent from 3.0 percent last year. Nearly 1.47 million people were unemployed in September. This represented an increase of 153,000 or 11.6 percent from the last year. Asian markets ended lower, even after Singapore's producer prices decreased for the second straight month in September and at an accelerated pace. The manufacturing producer price index fell 9.0 percent year-on-year in September, following a 5.7 percent decline in August.

The BSE Sensex ended at 79942.18, down by 426.85 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 79821.99 and 80435.61. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.04%, while Small cap index was up by 1.54%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 1.04%, FMCG up by 0.95%, Basic Materials up by 0.71%, Capital Goods up by 0.58% and Telecom up by 0.26%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.21%, Bankex down by 1.04%, TECK down by 0.76%, IT down by 0.67% and Oil & Gas down by 0.62% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.92%, Indusind Bank up by 1.81%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.69%, ITC up by 0.72% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.71%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.01%, ICICI Bank down by 1.52%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.32%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.28% and SBI down by 1.23% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, with an aim to further enhance the effectiveness of grassroots governance across the country, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Revamped, Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) in its 8th meeting has taken several significant decisions including adoption of Standardized Honorarium under RGSA, Long term Domestic Training of Panchayat officials, Training of elected representatives in Smart Classrooms, Investment in Gram Panchayat Infrastructure throughout the country with special focus on North Eastern States and UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

To enhance infrastructure, the CEC approved construction of 3,301 Gram Panchayat Bhawans with Common Service Centre (CSC) co-location and sanctioned 22,164 computers for Gram Panchayats across various States including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Telangana. This decision is a boost for Panchayati Raj system in these States as it directly addresses infrastructure gaps, enabling better administrative functioning and digital governance in rural areas. The provision of dedicated buildings and computer equipment will facilitate efficient record-keeping and e-governance, significantly enhancing local government operations and service delivery.

Besides, ‘Funding for Long-Term Domestic Training Programs’ for up to one year of duration for officials of PRIs (Panchayati Raj Institutions) and Panchayati Raj Department in the States/UTs under the State component of RGSA has been given a go ahead. The move aims at ensuring that the officials receive advanced, sector-specific training from Institutes of Excellence which will upgrade their skill set for better service delivery at the grassroots. This aligns with the objective of RGSA to strengthen decentralized governance and improved implementation efficiency. It will boost the overall competency of officials involved in rural development and local self-governance, thereby improving grassroots planning. It will also result in extensive Human Capital formation in PRIs over a period of few years.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24340.85, down by 126.00 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 24307.30 and 24498.20. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 4.24%, Tata Consumer Products up by 3.09%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.55%, Britannia up by 2.03% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.91%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 4.01%, Shriram Finance down by 2.45%, SBI Life Insurance down by 2.24%, Trent down by 2.13% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 2.07% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 29.43 points or 0.36% to 8,190.18, France’s CAC fell 79.34 points or 1.06% to 7,431.77 and Germany’s DAX lost 103.62 points or 0.53% to 19,374.45.

Asian markets settled mostly down on Wednesday with caution ahead of key US economic data due this week and next week's US presidential election and the Fed's rate decision, while investors react to mixed earnings results from US technology giants like Alphabet and chipmaker AMD. Market sentiments weakened further after news that the European Union has decided to Increase tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles to as much as 45.3% at the end of its highest profile trade investigation that has divided Europe and prompted retaliation from Beijing. Chinese shares fell as investors awaited the details of a fiscal package that could address issues in local government debt and the property market. Although, Japanese shares gained ahead of Thursday's Bank of Japan interest rate decision.