Benchmarks end lower on Thursday

After exhibiting lacklustre movement for a major part of the trading day on Thursday, Indian equity benchmarks weakened more in late trade to end near day’s low points, owing to selling pressure in Consumer Durables, Utilities and Auto stocks.  Markets made negative start and stayed in red for whole day as provisional data available on the NSE showed foreign institutional investors have net sold shares worth Rs 386.06 crore on November 16, 2022. Sentiments remained downbeat, as credit rating agency Crisil in its latest report has said that as much as 43% of India’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) universe by value is expected to remain below the pre-pandemic (fiscal 2020) level in terms of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin this fiscal (FY23) because of inability to completely pass on the high prices in some commodities as well as an unfavourable exchange rate.

Traders paid no heed towards the commerce ministry's data showing that India's exports to the UAE, with which a free trade agreement was implemented on May 1, rose by 17.6 per cent to about $18 billion during April-October this fiscal. Market participants also overlooked Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das’ statement that despite challenges, the Indian banking sector has been resilient and improved in various performance parameters. At the same time though, he asked public as well as private sector banks to remain watchful of the evolving macroeconomic situation and take necessary mitigating measures to minimise their impact on balance sheets and contain financial stability risks. Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India will be launching negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with a region next week. He said that negotiations are going on with countries, including the UK, European Union, Canada and Israel.

On the global front, Asian markets settled mostly down on Thursday following the broadly negative cues from global markets, as traders closely followed the developments on the geopolitical front following a missile blast in Poland. Traders were also digesting a mixed batch of U.S. economic data, which added to recent uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates. European markets were trading mostly in red, as worries about geopolitical tensions and rising inflation in the Euro area rendered the mood bearish.

Back home, oil & gas industry stocks were in focus as the government hiked windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil while reducing the rate on export of diesel. The tax on crude oil produced by firms such as state-owned ONGC, was hiked to Rs 10,200 per tonne, from Rs 9,500 per tonne, with effect from November 17. Airline industry stocks were in watch amid report that the government will increase the regional air connectivity levy charged from airlines operating on major routes to Rs 10,000 per departure from January 1, a move that could push the airfares higher.

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 230.12 points or 0.37% to 61,750.60 and the CNX Nifty was down by 65.75 points or 0.36% to 18,343.90.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 62,050.80 and 61,643.27, respectively. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.33%, while Small cap index was down by 0.27%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.00%, Telecom up by 0.54% and Industrials up by 0.46%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.65%, Utilities down by 1.50%, Auto down by 1.35%, Power down by 1.34% and IT down by 0.79% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 1.25%, ICICI Bank up by 0.63%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.59%, Power Grid Corporation up by 0.55% and Axis Bank up by 0.39%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 2.21%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.16%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.63%, HDFC down by 1.39% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.31% were the top losers. 

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has stated that India's exports to the UAE, with which a free trade agreement was implemented on May 1, rose by 17.6 per cent to about USD 18 billion during April-October this fiscal (FY23). However, exports in October dipped by 18 per cent to about USD 2 billion.

It mentioned Imports during April-October of FY23, on the other hand, increased by 33 per cent to USD 32.3 billion from the UAE. Further, imports from China during the same period grew by 18 per cent to USD 60.3 billion, while India's exports to China declined by 37.3 per cent to 8.8 billion.

Exports to India's major destinations, such as the US, UAE, China, Bangladesh, UK and Saudi Arabia, have recorded negative growth in October. On the other hand, exports registered positive growth in the Netherlands, Singapore and Brazil during the month. In April-October this fiscal, exports to the US rose by 8.4 per cent to USD 47 billion. Similarly, the outbound shipments to the UK during same period of the fiscal have increased by 8.3 per cent to USD 6.5 billion. This data is collated by the ministry's Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics based on quick estimates.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 18,417.60 and 18,312.95. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer Products up by 1.94%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.53%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.27%, Power Grid Corporation up by 0.69% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.60%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 2.28%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.15%, Tata Motors down by 2.00%, Eicher Motors down by 1.83% and Apollo Hospital down by 1.77% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 28.84 points or 0.39% to 7,322.35 and France’s CAC decreased 33.36 points or 0.5% to 6,573.86, while Germany’s DAX increased 38.33 points or 0.27% to 14,272.36.

Asian markets settled mostly down on Thursday after daily covid cases surged again in China, while strong US retail sales data released overnight dented hopes of a smaller rate hike. Market sentiments weakened further by tracking Wall Street’s weak close overnight amid hawkish comments from a slew of Federal Reserve officials. Chinese shares slipped due to worries about ongoing covid curbs in the Country. Hong Kong shares declined after a Chinese multinational technology company Tencent announced to slash its over $20 billion-stake in a Chinese shopping platform Meituan. Moreover, Japanese shares ended marginally lower after data showed the country' trade deficit widened more than expected in October.