Benchmarks trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks were trading lower in morning deals, on negative global cues. Traders remained cautious as the Reserve Bank of India’s data (October 2023 bulletin) stated that net foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, inflows minus outflows, declined sharply in April-August this year to $2.99 billion from $18.03 billion in the same period last year on moderation in global activities and a rise in repatriation. Traders overlooked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman’s statement that the government is mindful of the fiscal deficit management and will ensure the burden of servicing debt is not passed on to next generation. She said the government is looking at the ways in which it can bring down the overall debt. On the global front, Asian markets are trading lower as the conflict between Israel and Hamas intensified and hurt sentiment. The US has warned of a significant risk to its interests in the West Asia.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65195.63, down by 201.99 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 65169.09 and 65453.92. There were 5 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.92%, while Small cap index was down by 1.95%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom down by 2.21%, Realty down by 1.68%, Utilities down by 1.52%, Metal down by 1.39% and Industrials down by 1.34%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 0.82%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.76%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.55%, Nestle up by 0.29% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.18%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.54%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.27%, TCS down by 1.11%, NTPC down by 1.10% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.07% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Minister for New and Renewable Energy RK Singh has said that the government is planning to register solar panels made up of only domestically manufactured cells, wafers and polysilicon under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) in the next 3-4 years. Singh has also asked the concerned officers of his ministry to prepare a policy in this regard. ALMM was introduced by the government to boost domestic manufacturing of solar panels. He said the modules with less efficiency are removed from the ALMM.

He stated ‘We will evolve our policies. We will only protect those modules, which are made-in-India cells. In one or two years, we will bring such a policy. Then again, after 1-2 years, we will bring a policy that wafers and polysilicon should also be made in India. We only register those players under ALMM whose cell, wafers and polysilicon are India-made.’

Further, it said the move will help in real 'Make-in-India'. The government will not promote the import of components of solar panels in the next few years. He said ‘You import cell from outside and assemble here and sell it saying it is made in India, whereas it is 90 per cent made in China this will not do.’ he added that government will also do a review of the ALMM next year. Besides, he said the government will not allow the manufacturers to endorse any outdated equipment or technology to protect the interest of the people of India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19,484.20, down by 58.45 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 19,556.85 and 19,460.00. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 1.05%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories up by 0.67%, ICICI Bank up by 0.62%, Divi's Laboratories up by 0.41%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.41%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 1.79%, Tata Steel down by 1.54%, Adani Ports and SEZ down by 1.49% and Grasim Industries down by 1.35% were the top losers on Nifty.

Asian markets are trading lower; Taiwan Weighted lost 178.17 points or 1.1% to 16,262.55, Nikkei 225 slipped 171.9 points or 0.55% to 31,087.46, Jakarta Composite plunged 86.21 points or 1.27% to 6,762.96, KOSPI dropped 17.82 points or 0.76% to 2,357.18, Shanghai Composite weakened 15.93 points or 0.54% to 2,967.13 and Straits Times fell 7.64 points or 0.25% to 3,069.05.