Bourses trade at day’s high levels in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded at day’s high levels in late afternoon session following strong performance in other Asian markets. Traders took support as another set of weak U.S. economic data added to investor optimism that the Fed is done hiking interest rates. Meanwhile, India's foreign exchange reserves increased by $2.579 billion to $586.111 billion in the week ended on October 27. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had dropped by $2.363 billion to $583.532 billion. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading higher as weak U.S. jobs and service sector activity data released on Friday helped ease worries about further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. However, European markets were trading lower amid growth worries after official data showed the downturn in euro zone business activity accelerated last month. Meanwhile, Germany's factory orders grew unexpectedly in September. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 64842.70, up by 478.92 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 64617.48 and 64843.77. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.77%, while Small cap index was up by 1.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.57%, Capital Goods up by 1.53%, Realty up by 1.43%, Industrials up by 1.41% and Metal was up by 1.29%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.41% was the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 2.54%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.23%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.73%, Asian Paints up by 1.63% and Tata Steel up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.54%, SBI down by 0.52%, Titan Company down by 0.37%, Tata Motors down by 0.19% and ITC down by 0.06% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, reiterating India's commitment to embracing disruptive technologies, particularly AI, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal has said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool to fight poverty, deliver goods and services to remote areas, and reskill the workforce for the future. 

Union Minister also recognized India's role as a global leader in AI and noted the nation's growing recognition in the international startup ecosystem. He underlined that India's strengths lie in its large, youthful population, vast data resources, and an entrepreneurial culture.

Further, the Minister encouraged Indian startups to be ambitious, welcome innovation, and address the challenges that lie ahead. He mentioned that while India has some catching up to do, the country's enthusiasm for AI is undeterred. He said that India's future lies in its commitment to innovation and reskilling to leverage AI for economic growth.

Goyal also expressed hope that India's thriving startup ecosystem will eventually become the largest in the world, provided that the youth continue to believe in big, audacious goals. He shared his confidence that India's entrepreneurial spirit will drive the nation toward a brighter future, marked by innovation, creativity, and prosperity.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19379.85, up by 149.25 points or 0.78% after trading in a range of 19309.70 and 19381.15. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 2.81%, Axis Bank up by 2.61%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.49%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.15% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.88%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.57%, SBI down by 0.52%, Cipla down by 0.50%, Titan Company down by 0.44% and SBI Life down by 0.20% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 758.59 points or 2.32% to 32,708.48, Hang Seng advanced 302.47 points or 1.68% to 17,966.59, Taiwan Weighted added 141.71 points or 0.85% to 16,649.36, KOSPI increased 134.03 points or 5.36% to 2,502.37, Jakarta Composite gained 72.07 points or 1.06% to 6,860.92, Straits Times rose 27.81 points or 0.88% to 3,171.47 and Shanghai Composite was up by 27.61 points or 0.9% to 3,058.41.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 0.76 points or 0.01% to 7,416.97, France’s CAC fell 4.96 points or 0.07% to 7,042.54 and Germany’s DAX was down by 11.13 points or 0.07% to 15,178.12.