Bourses come off from day’s lows in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets came off from day’s lows in late afternoon session but continued their trade below neutral lines following weakness in European markets. Losses were limited as Global rating agency Fitch has raised India’s medium-term potential growth rate estimate by 70 basis (bps) due to improvement in the employment rate and working-age population while cutting China’s potential growth rate by 70 bps due to a weaker outlook to employment rate and capital deepening. Sector wise, insurance sector remain in focused after non-life insurers reported 13.79% growth in gross direct premium underwritten at Rs 23,129.69 crore for the month of October 2023. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red with a resurgence in U.S, Treasury yields and mixed China data weighing on investor sentiment. European markets were trading lower as a drag in energy stocks offset gains in financials, while Watches of Switzerland jumped to a more than one-month high following a strong second-quarter update.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 64899.90, down by 58.79 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 64638.10 and 65021.29. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.38%, while Small cap index was up by 0.28%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.99%, Healthcare up by 0.93%, PSU up by 0.79%, Energy up by 0.45% and Utilities was up by 0.26%, while Realty down by 1.41%, Auto down by 0.08%, Consumer Durables down by 0.07% and Power was down by 0.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 1.71%, NTPC up by 1.06%, SBI up by 0.77%, Indusind Bank up by 0.77% and Axis Bank up by 0.74%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.12%, ITC down by 0.61%, JSW Steel down by 0.50%, Reliance Industries down by 0.47% and Power Grid down by 0.41% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Steel Secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha has said that India's steel capacity has crossed 161 million tones, comprising 67 MT by blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BoF) route, 36 MT by electric arc furnace (EAF) and 58 MT by induction furnace (IF) route. He also noted that the steel sector in India is poised for continued growth. As per the National Steel Policy, India has an ambitious target of installing 300 MT steel capacity by 2030.

Steel Secretary further said that India is the world's fourth-largest automobile market, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8-10 per cent over the next 10 years. Moreover, the manufacturing sector saw a Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7-8 per cent and this is driving demand for steel in both the sectors.

Besides, Sinha stated that embracing low carbon technologies, collaborating with stakeholders, and adopting green practices are essential for the industry's long-term sustainability and alignment with national and international environmental goals. On the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), he said it has thrown a significant challenge to the steel industry.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19390.00, down by 21.75 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 19329.10 and 19411.25. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 1.60%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.26%, BPCL up by 1.19%, LTIMindtree up by 1.12% and NTPC up by 1.04%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.20%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.12%, Divi's Lab down by 0.87%, Apollo Hospital down by 0.74% and Adani Enterprises down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 436.66 points or 1.35% to 32,271.82, Hang Seng declined 296.43 points or 1.68% to 17,670.16, KOSPI dropped 58.41 points or 2.39% to 2,443.96, Jakarta Composite plunged 51.2 points or 0.74% to 6,827.64, Straits Times fell 10.29 points or 0.32% to 3,170.24 and Shanghai Composite was down by 1.14 points or 0.04% to 3,057.27, while Taiwan Weighted was up by 35.59 points or 0.21% to 16,684.95.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 7.77 points or 0.1% to 7,409.99, France’s CAC fell 14.14 points or 0.2% to 6,999.59 and Germany’s DAX was down by 26.57 points or 0.18% to 15,109.40.