Bourses trim some losses in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets trimmed some of their losses in late afternoon session but continued to trade lower amid U.S. presidential election due on tomorrow. Investors overlooked commerce ministry in its latest data has stated India's export competitiveness has witnessed healthy gains in multiple sectors -- particularly petroleum, gemstones, agrochemicals and sugar -- during the last five years, as these segments have increased their share in global trade. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green with Japanese markets closing for Culture Day holiday. Regional gains were impressive despite persisting Middle East tensions and anxiety ahead of this week's U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision. European markets were trading mostly in green amid interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and Bank of England. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78561.90, down by 1162.22 points or 1.46% after trading in a range of 78232.60 and 79713.14. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.33%, while Small cap index was down by 1.62%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas down by 2.86%, Realty down by 2.82%, Energy down by 2.82%, Telecom down by 2.37% and Utilities was down by 1.97%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.61%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.73%, SBI up by 0.65% and Indusind Bank up by 0.24%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 3.22%, Reliance Industries down by 3.16%, Sun Pharma down by 2.80%, Titan Company down by 2.64% and Tata Motors down by 2.55% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's manufacturing sector regained growth momentum in the month of October, fuelled by faster increases in total new orders and international sales. An associated rise in production requirements boosted demand for raw materials, with suppliers comfortably able to deliver inputs in a timely manner. Besides, goods producers were also more willing to take on additional staff which, coupled with rising material costs, added to business expenses. Both input prices and selling charges increased at stronger rates.

According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surged to 57.5 in October as against 56.5 in September, indicating a substantial and accelerated improvement in operating conditions. The upturn in performance was boosted by stronger demand for Indian goods. There was a quicker increase in order book volumes that was stronger than the average seen in nearly 20 years of data collection.

The survey report further noted that new export orders also exhibited stronger growth, following the weakest uptick in a year-and-a-half during September, while production volumes were ramped up to a greater degree in October, fuelled by faster increases in the consumer and investment goods categories. Meanwhile, Indian manufacturers became more optimistic regarding future output volumes. Rising since September, the level of positive sentiment was above the average seen over the 13-and-a-half-year series history.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23924.90, down by 379.45 points or 1.56% after trading in a range of 23816.15 and 24316.75. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.56%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.73%, Cipla up by 1.64%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.61% and SBI up by 0.55%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 4.55%, Grasim Industries down by 3.97%, Bajaj Auto down by 3.84%, ONGC down by 3.57% and Adani Ports down by 3.34% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 185.31 points or 0.81% to 22,965.39, Hang Seng advanced 61.09 points or 0.3% to 20,567.52, KOSPI increased 46.61 points or 1.8% to 2,588.97, Shanghai Composite strengthened 38.2 points or 1.15% to 3,310.21 and Straits Times was up by 22.85 points or 0.64% to 3,578.28. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 25.4 points or 0.34% to 7,479.86.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 42.15 points or 0.52% to 8,219.30 and France’s CAC was up by 0.67 points or 0.01% to 7,409.78. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was down by 35.95 points or 0.19% to 19,219.02.