Sensex, Nifty trade lower in early deals ahead of Nifty options' monthly expiry

Indian equity benchmarks made slightly negative start of the last trading session of Samvat 2080 amid mixed global cues. Overnight rise in crude oil prices also dented domestic sentiments. Oil prices rose on Wednesday after private report said that OPEC+ could delay a planned oil production increase in December by a month or more because of concern over soft oil demand and rising supply. Sensex and Nifty are trading lower with cut of around 0.20% each in early deals amid selling at IT and TECK stocks. Some cautiousness came as the government data showed that the growth in production of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 2 per cent in September as against 9.5 per cent in the same month last year. However, the output growth is positive against a contraction of 1.6 per cent in August. Out of the eight key sectors, three - crude oil, natural gas and electricity - recorded negative growth in September. Markets remain volatile on the back of Nifty options' monthly expiry later in the day.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders are cautious and remain on the sidelines ahead of key U.S. economic data due this week and next week's US presidential election. They also continue to assess the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the value of retail sales in Japan was up 0.5 percent on year in September. Moreover, Singapore market is closed for Deepavali. Taiwan is shut down ahead of the arrival of strong Typhoon Kong-rey.

Back home, stocks related to gold are in focus as the World Gold Council (WGC) in a report said India’s gold demand witnessed an 18 per cent on-year growth during the July-September quarter of this year to 248.3 tonnes, as the reduction in gold import duty resulted in a revival in jewellery demand. In stock specific development, L&T gained after Q2 net profit rises 6.7% YoY to Rs 4,113 crore, beating estimates.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79750.04, down by 192.14 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 79583.69 and 80044.95. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.05%, while Small cap index was up by 1.00%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 2.33%, Industrials up by 2.02%, Healthcare up by 0.96%, Utilities up by 0.76% and Power up by 0.53%, while IT down by 2.01%, TECK down by 1.70%, Consumer Durables down by 0.70%, FMCG down by 0.50% and Auto down by 0.26% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 5.98%, SBI up by 0.57%, Tata Steel up by 0.57%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.47% and JSW Steel up by 0.43%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 3.61%, Infosys down by 2.06%, HCL Technologies down by 1.97%, TCS down by 1.94% and Titan Company down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India is not looking at the ongoing US-China trade tensions as an opportunity for its own benefit and the country stands on its strengths such as democratic institutions, robust rule of law, and talented youth. He said India offers huge opportunities and the world is building stronger ties with the emerging markets.

The US has raised customs duties on a number of goods imported from China. About if the multilateral trade system has failed, Goyal said it has not, but it is going through certain stresses. He said that the World Trade Organization (WTO) is grappling with issues like a dysfunctional appellate body to resolve trade disputes among member countries.

He said ‘We have challenges on certain agendas where the developed world and the emerging markets think differently. We have not been able to reconcile those differences. But I am one who believes that the future is bright and I am very optimistic about these issues only making things better for all’.

He added that India and the US resolved their seven WTO trade disputes bilaterally. He said ‘So we see a great opportunity for diplomacy playing a greater role in resolving the problems of the world and India's approach is that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward whether it is conflict or economics’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24289.85, down by 51.00 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 24234.30 and 24372.45. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 7.66%, Larsen & Toubro up by 5.89%, ONGC up by 1.07%, Hero MotoCorp up by 0.80% and Power Grid up by 0.61%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 3.73%, Infosys down by 2.14%, HCL Technologies down by 2.07%, TCS down by 1.97% and Trent down by 1.86% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng rose 95.78 points or 0.47% to 20,476.42, Jakarta Composite gained 22.83 points or 0.3% to 7,592.68 and Shanghai Composite was up by 11.8 points or 0.36% to 3,278.04. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 slipped 365.09 points or 0.93% to 38,912.30 and KOSPI was down by 19.74 points or 0.76% to 2,574.05.