Benchmarks continue losing streak; Nifty settles below 23,600 mark

Indian equity benchmarks continued their losing streak and ended lower by over a percent each on Wednesday as traders remained tense in the wake of sustained selling by foreign investors. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,024.31 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Markets made a negative start and gradually drifted lower throughout the session as data showed retail inflation breached the Reserve Bank’s upper tolerance level, soaring to a 14-month high of 6.21 per cent in October mainly on account of rising food prices. Inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) was 5.49 per cent in September and 4.87 per cent in the year-ago month. Besides, muted quarterly earnings, selling in frontline stocks like Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra along with weak trends in the US and Asian peers hit markets' sentiment.  

Traders overlooked report that India Exim Bank said India’s merchandise exports are likely to grow 1.85% year-on-year to $107.5 billion in the third quarter of FY25 on the back of sustained momentum in economic activity and improving demand prospects in trading partners supported by expected global monetary easing. Traders also paid no heed towards the finance ministry’s statement that public sector banks (PSBs) have shown robust performance in the first half of the current fiscal year (H1FY25) with a 26 per cent growth in net profit, increase in business and decline in non-performing assets (NPAs). The aggregate business of 12 PSBs, including State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, stood at Rs 236.04 lakh crore during the April-September period, registering an 11 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth.

On the global front, Asian markets settled mostly down on Wednesday as investors fretted about the impact of U.S. President-elect Trump's proposed tariffs on inflation and interest rates. Trump's choice of China hawks in his Cabinet and China's faltering growth also kept investors on the sidelines. European markets were trading higher as investors reacted to upbeat earnings news and awaited U.S. consumer price inflation data later in the day for directional cues. Back home, on the sectoral front, auto stocks were in watch as Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said passenger vehicle wholesales increased marginally year-on-year to 3,93,238 units in October. The overall passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers stood at 3,89,714 units in October, 2023. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 984.23 points or 1.25% to 77,690.95, and the CNX Nifty was down by 324.40 points or 1.36% to 23,559.05.  

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 78,690.02 and 77,533.30 respectively. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 2.56%, while Small cap index was down by 3.08%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 3.23%, Industrials down by 2.95%, Capital Goods down by 2.72%, Metal down by 2.54% and Basic Materials down by 2.45%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The few gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 0.21%, Tata Motors up by 0.18% and Infosys up by 0.02%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 3.40%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.23%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 2.82%, SBI down by 2.18% and JSW Steel down by 2.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, revealing significant growth in patent, trademark, and industrial design applications across top economies, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in its latest report ‘the World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) 2024’ has said that India has secured a spot in the global top 10 for all three major intellectual property (IP) rights - patents, trademarks, and industrial designs.

The report also stated that India continues to solidify its place as a global leader in the intellectual property landscape by showing substantial progress and marking new milestones in IP activity. India recorded the fastest growth in patent (+15.7%) applications in 2023 among the top 20 origins, marking the fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth. 

Further, India ranks sixth globally for patents with 64,480 applications, with resident filings accounting for over half of all submissions (55.2%) - a first for the country. The patent office also granted 149.4% more patents in 2023 compared to the previous year, underlining the country’s fast-evolving IP ecosystem. The report indicates a steady rise (36.4%) in India’s industrial design applications, which aligns with increasing emphasis on product design, manufacturing, and creative industries within India. 

As per the report, India ranked fourth globally in trademark filings, with a 6.1% increase in 2023. Nearly 90% of these filings were by residents, with key sectors including Health (21.9%), Agriculture (15.3%), and Clothing (12.8%) leading the way. India’s trademark office holds the second-largest number of active registrations worldwide, with over 3.2 million trademarks in force, reflecting the country’s strong position in global brand protection.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 23,873.60 and 23,509.60. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Britannia Industries up by 0.40%, Grasim Industries up by 0.35%, Tata Motors up by 0.25%, Asian Paints up by 0.13% and NTPC up by 0.04%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 4.21%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.47%, Hindalco down by 3.40%, Tata Steel down by 3.11% and Eicher Motors down by 2.94% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 7.49 points or 0.09% to 8,033.26, France’s CAC rose 16.23 points or 0.22% to 7,243.21 and Germany’s DAX gained 45.26 points or 0.24% to 19,078.90. 

Asian markets settled mostly down on Wednesday tracking Wall Streets’ overnight fall on profit booking in anticipation that US President-elect Donald Trump's pledged policies on tariffs will rekindle inflation and keep US interest rates high. Meanwhile, investors were awaiting key US consumer and producer inflation readings this week for hints of a possible Federal Reserve rate cut in December. Trump's choice of China hawks in his Cabinet and China's faltering growth have kept Hong Kong shares subdued. Japanese shares tumbled after data showed Japan's producer price index rose by 3.4% year-on-year in October, beating expectations. But weaker yen increased bets for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates. However, Chinese shares gained as China began marketing its first US dollar sovereign bonds in three years in Saudi Arabia.