Bourses extend losses in afternoon session

Indian bourses extended their losses in afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty trading down by 383 and 92 points, respectively. Selling pressure in the telecom, banking and auto stocks weighted down on the markets. Sentiments got undermined as the government's fiscal deficit rose to Rs 9.14 lakh crore, about 114.8 percent of the annual budget estimate, during the first six months of the current financial year, mainly on account of poor revenue realisation. Selling further crept in, as World Bank stated that the remittances to India would fall this year by nine per cent to $76 billion due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and global economic recession. The World Bank said in its latest report said India followed by China, Mexico, Philippines, and Egypt continue to be the top five countries in 2020 to receive foreign remittances.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red as jitters over next week's U.S. presidential election and a shaky global economic outlook enveloped markets. Back on street, in scrip specific developments, HPCL gained as board to consider share buyback on November 4 and Angel Broking jumped after Kuwait Investment Authority buys 0.53% stake.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39366.04, down by 383.81 points or 0.97% after trading in a range of 39326.29 and 39988.25. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.06%, while Small cap index was down by 0.42%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.74%, Realty up by 0.61%, Power up by 0.51%, PSU up by 0.28% and Energy was up by 0.18%, while Telecom down by 2.80%, Bankex down by 1.70%, Auto down by 1.42%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.91% and FMCG was down by 0.74% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Nestle up by 1.92%, TCS up by 0.42%, NTPC up by 0.29%, ITC up by 0.21% and Tech Mahindra was up by 0.14%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.72%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.06%, Bajaj Finance down by 3.01%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.73% and ICICI Bank was down by 2.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the ministry of Commerce and Industry in its latest data has showed that the growth of eight core infrastructure industries contracted by 0.8 percent in September 2020 as compared to same period of last year, mainly due to decline in production of crude oil, natural gas, refinery products and cement. However, the decline in output during the month under review was lowest since March 2020. The production of eight core sectors had contracted 5.1 percent in September 2019. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). 

Among eight core sectors, Coal production having 10.33 percent weight increased by 21.20 percent in September, 2020 over September, 2019, while its cumulative index fell by 6.1 percent during April to September, 2020-21 over corresponding period of the previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04 percent weight declined 9.5 percent in September, 2020 over September, 2019, while its cumulative index dropped by 16.3 percent during April to September, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of previous year.

Electricity generation having 19.85 percent weight roe 3.7 percent in September, 2020 over September, 2019, and its cumulative index decreased by 8.2 percent during April to September, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of previous year. Cement production having 5.37 percent weight declined by 3.5 percent in September, 2020 over September, 2019 and its cumulative index fell by 25.1 percent during April to September, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of previous year. Steel production having 17.92 percent weight surged by 0.9 percent in September, 2020 over September, 2019, while its cumulative index fell by 26.7 percent during April to September, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of previous year.

Crude Oil production having 8.98 percent weight fell by 6.0 percent in September, 2020 over September, 2019 and its cumulative index dropped by 6.1 percent during April to September, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of previous year. The Natural Gas production having 6.88 percent weight declined by 10.6 percent in September, 2020 over September, 2019, and its cumulative index was down by 13.2 percent during April to September, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of previous year. Fertilizer production having 2.63 percent weight declined by 0.3 percent in September, 2020 over September, 2019, while its cumulative index was up by 3.7 percent during April to September, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of previous year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11578.00, down by 92.80 points or 0.80% after trading in a range of 11561.95 and 11748.95. There were 14 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 4.55%, BPCL up by 3.15%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 2.23%, Nestle up by 1.91% and Coal India was up by 1.80%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.38%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.87%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.74%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.70% and Hero MotoCorp was down by 2.19% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 354.81 points or 1.52% to 22,977.13, Straits Times trembled 23.30 points or 0.95% to 2,427.38, Hang Seng decreased 429.12 points or 1.75% to 24,157.48, Taiwan Weighted dropped 116.57 points or 0.92% to 12,546.34, KOSPI fell 59.52 points or 2.56% to 2,267.15 and Shanghai Composite was down by 39.87 points or 1.22% to 3,232.86.