Benchmarks continue to trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, owing to relentless foreign fund outflows, selling in IT stocks and weak leads from the US markets. According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,849.87 crore on Thursday. Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 22,420 crore from the Indian equity market so far this month, owing to high domestic stock valuations, increasing allocations to China, and the rising US dollar as well as Treasury yields. With this sell-off, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have recorded a total outflow of Rs 15,827 crore in 2024 so far.  Some concern also came as Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das stated that the central bank has ensured a soft landing after having faced with various headwinds, but risks of inflation coming back and growth slowing down do remain. On the sectoral front, Auto stocks remained in focus as the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said the automobile retail demand during this year’s festive season witnessed a surge with sales growing at the rate of 11.76 per cent over last year’s 38.37 lakh units. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as a series of strong economic data from the US has raised concerns about higher interest rates, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaling that the central bank is in no rush to lower rates.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77068.78, down by 511.53 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 77015.71 and 77886.97. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.58%, while Small cap index was down by 1.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.57%, Realty up by 0.93%, Consumer Durables up by 0.60%, Auto up by 0.02% and Basic Materials up by 0.02%, while IT down by 2.65%, TECK down by 2.38%, Oil & Gas down by 1.90%, Energy down by 1.56% and Utilities down by 1.23% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC Bank up by 1.21%, Tata Steel up by 0.83%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 0.60%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.56% and Nestle up by 0.54%. On the flip side, TCS down by 3.34%, Infosys down by 2.98%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.51%, NTPC down by 2.31% and HCL Technologies down by 1.84% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) in its report, citing government data, has said that textiles exports from India during October were about 11.56 per cent higher at $1,833.95 million, compared to the same month last year. At the same time, apparel exports registered a significant growth of 35.06 per cent during the same period October at $1,227.44 million. 

It said cumulative exports of textiles and apparel in October 2024 increased by 19.93 per cent compared to October 2023. During April-October, Indian textiles exports registered a growth of 4.01 per cent over the previous year while apparel exports registered a growth of 11.60 per cent during the same time.

It stated ‘We are encouraged by these developments, as they underscore the resilience and competitiveness of India’s textile and apparel industry on the global stage.’ While it did not give any reason for the export boost, Bangladesh’s political instability has likely led to a trade shift to India lately. Bangladesh is a manufacturer of textiles and apparel.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23370.35, down by 162.35 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 23362.35 and 23606.80. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.60%, Hindalco up by 3.34%, HDFC Bank up by 1.15%, Coal India up by 0.84% and Tata Steel up by 0.78%. On the flip side, TCS down by 3.60%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 3.33%, Wipro down by 3.31%, Infosys down by 2.91% and Tech Mahindra down by 2.62% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 409.62 points or 1.06% to 38,233.29, Taiwan Weighted lost 209.42 points or 0.92% to 22,533.35, Straits Times fell 4.08 points or 0.11% to 3,740.62 and Jakarta Composite plunged 14.46 points or 0.2% to 7,146.80. 

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite strengthened 41.45 points or 1.23% to 3,372.18, Hang Seng advanced 229.24 points or 1.17% to 19,655.58 and KOSPI increased 39.74 points or 1.64% to 2,456.60.