Markets continue to trade in red in afternoon session

Domestic equity indies continued to trade in red in late morning deals on account of selling by funds and retail investors. Hectic selling in ITC, Hindustan Unilever and JSW Steel companies’ stocks pressured the markets to trade lower. Negative cues from global markets also weighed on the domestic sentiments. Traders remained cautious after the surge in the 10-year US benchmark yield overnight to briefly touch 5% has raised borrowing costs around the world. Further, weakness also prevailed in the markets as Reserve Bank of India -- Governor Shaktikanta Das said the global economy is now facing a triad of challenges. He added that the recent surge in crude oil prices and bond yield is a major challenge.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red following negative cues from the US markets overnight as U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation was still too high and would likely require lower economic growth. Back home, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in red led by Oil & Gas, Metal, FMCG, Consumer Durables and Energy.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65383.80, down by 245.44 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 65308.61 and 65555.14. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.84%, while Small cap index down by 0.17%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas down by 1.52%, Metal down by 1.44%, FMCG down by 1.28%, Consumer Durables down by 1.26%, Energy down by 1.17%, while there were no gaines.  

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.07%, TCS up by 1.06%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.04%, Nestle up by 0.91% and HDFC Bank up by 0.35%. On the flip side, ITC down by 2.63%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.00%, JSW Steel down by 1.81%, Tata Steel down by 1.39% and Bajaj Finance down by 1.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra has said that prices of essential food items will remain stable during the festival season. He said the decision on allowing sugar exports during the current 2023-24 marketing year (October-September) will be taken after the agriculture ministry comes out with the production estimates of sugarcane.

The secretary said the government has taken some decisions recently to ensure price stabilisation. The government has recently used all tools at its command, whether trade policy or stock limit norms. These tools have been used judiciously to ensure prices remain stable to check prices, Chopra noted. He noted that sugar opening stock stood at 57 lakh tonnes on October 1, the start of the new marketing year.

On October 18, 2023, the government again extended restrictions on sugar exports beyond October 31 this year and till further orders, a move aimed at increasing the availability of the commodity in the domestic market during the festive season. Earlier, the restrictions were imposed until October 31 this year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19539.20, down by 85.50 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 19518.70 and 19593.80. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 1.18%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.04%, TCS up by 0.99%, SBI Life up by 0.94% and Nestle up by 0.90%. On the flip side, ITC down by 2.65%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.98%, BPCL down by 1.77%, Divi's Lab down by 1.70% and JSW Steel down by 1.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 108.02 points or 0.62% to 17,187.87, Nikkei 225 slipped 171.26 points or 0.55% to 31,259.36, Taiwan Weighted lost 12.01 points or 0.07% to 16,440.72, Straits Times fell 12.67 points or 0.41% to 3,086.93, KOSPI dropped 41.05 points or 1.7% to 2,374.75, Shanghai Composite weakened 27.59 points or 0.92% to 2,977.80. However, Jakarta Composite gained 7.95 points or 0.12% to 6,854.38.