Markets likely to get cautious start tracking mixed Asian cues

Indian markets ended higher for the second consecutive session on Wednesday on the back of bargain buying and clarity on the US election verdict. Today, markets are likely to get cautious start tracking mixed cues from Asian counterparts. Foreign fund outflows likely to dent sentiments. As per NSE data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) were net sellers of Indian equities worth Rs 4,445.59 crore. Some cautiousness may come as SBI report said they see Q2 real GDP growth slowing down further to 6.5 per cent in the September quarter of this fiscal year. Amid concerns over the country's economic growth rate and if it is slowing down, it said they expect FY25 growth to come closer to 7 per cent. Meanwhile, India and the US held a key two-day military cooperation group meeting, during which both sides reaffirmed their commitment to expanding the scope of the bilateral military cooperation with a shared understanding of the dynamic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region. Besides, India's Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran said India expects policy continuity with the United States no matter what the result is in the U.S. presidential election. Auto stocks will be in focus after data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) showed that automobile retail sales increased 32 per cent in October from the year before, helped by festival demand, especially for two wheelers and passenger vehicles. It added October clocked overall retail sales of 2.83 million, the second highest number after 2.85 million in November 2023. There will be some reaction in edible oil stocks with a private report that India's palm oil imports surged 59 per cent in October to a three-month high compared to the previous month, as refiners boosted purchases to replenish stocks depleted by lower-than-usual imports in recent months and strong festive demand. Oil & gas stocks will be in limelight as Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said India’s petrochemical sector is on track to touch $300 billion next year, with the potential to reach upwards of $1 trillion in 2040. Moreover, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) will be included in the MSCI Global Standard Index, effective from November 7, as part of the index provider’s latest rejig. Along with BSE, four other stocks -Voltas, Alkem Laboratories, Oberoi Realty, and Kalyan Jewellers - will also join the MSCI Global Standard Index. Investors continue to keep close eye on earnings announcement of some companies.

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday as Republican Donald Trump won the 2024 US presidential election in a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House. Asian markets are trading mixed on Thursday Asian markets are trading mixed on Thursday after Japan's real wages, a key indicator of consumer purchasing power, fell 0.1 per cent in September.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks continued their upward rally for the second consecutive session and ended with gains of over a percent on Wednesday amid positive global cues as Republican Donald Trump claimed victory in the US presidential election. All sectors contributed to the rally, with IT, TECK and Oil & Gas emerging as the top gainers. Markets made a positive start and gradually climbed as the day progressed as traders took encouragement with Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri stating that oil prices in India are expected to remain stable amid the rising geopolitical tensions as the country has several options to buy crude oil. Addressing concerns over potential supply chain disruptions, Puri emphasized that India has strategically positioned itself to manage such situations effectively, with access to a diverse range of crude oil suppliers. Markets extended gains in second half of trading session and ended near day’s high levels as sentiments got boost with data showing that India’s services sector activity gained traction in the month of October, aided by healthy customer demand domestically and from abroad. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 58.5 in October from 57.7 in September. Further, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- also surged to 59.1 in October as against 58.3 in September. Traders took a note of report that total production of main kharif crops-rice, pulses and maize-in the 2024-25 crop season is expected to surpass last year mainly because of good monsoons and gains from a larger area under cultivation. While kharif rice output is expected to increase nearly 6% to 119.93 million tonnes from 113.25 million tonnes last year, tur production is expected to rise about 3% to 3.5 million tonnes from 3.4 million tonnes. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 901.50 points or 1.13% to 80,378.13, and the CNX Nifty was up by 270.75 points or 1.12% to 24,484.05.