Bourses trade deep in red in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded deep in red in late afternoon session following weak cues from European markets. As for broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index traded with cut of over two percent, while Small cap index traded with losses of above three percent. Traders overlooked the report that government has doubled the loan limit under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) to Rs 20 lakh to promote entrepreneurship in the country. This increase aspires to further the overall objective of the Mudra Scheme which is funding the unfunded. This enhancement is specifically beneficial to upcoming entrepreneurs facilitating their growth and expansion. The move is in alignment with the government's commitment in fostering a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem.  On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, while European markets were trading lower as market's focus on the health of the corporate sector. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East as well as election uncertainty in the U.S. are also expected to weigh on market sentiment.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79163.07, down by 902.09 points or 1.13% after trading in a range of 79137.98 and 80253.19. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 2.13%, while Small cap index was down by 3.03%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG was up by 0.43%, while Consumer Durables down by 3.88%, Utilities down by 3.09%, PSU down by 3.02%, Oil & Gas down by 3.01% and Metal was down by 2.92% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 2.45%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.00%, Sun Pharma up by 0.81%, Axis Bank up by 0.71% and Nestle up by 0.39%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 18.93%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 4.83%, NTPC down by 3.64%, Adani Ports down by 3.46% and Larsen & Toubro down by 3.35% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that the Indian pharmaceutical market (IPM) continued to deliver mid-single digit growth for the last three consecutive months at 5.3% in September 2024. The report noted that this is because of price growth (5.3% yoy) and new launches (2.4% yoy). However, it said the volume growth (negative 2.4% yoy) remained weak. 

According to the report titled ‘Pharma Pulse - September 2024: Mid-Single Digit Growth Continues’, key therapies such as cardiac, anti-infectives, anti-diabetic, and central nervous system outperformed the IPM growth. However, it stated that gastro, vitamins and respiratory witnessed lower growth in September 2024. 

Ind-Ra further said that during January to September 2024, the IPM reported average growth of 7.7% yoy (monthly) with average volume growing negative 0.9% yoy. Further, the rating agency is expecting the IPM growth to be 8%-9% yoy in FY25 (FY24: 6.5% yoy; FY23: 9.9% yoy).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24086.10, down by 313.30 points or 1.28% after trading in a range of 24073.90 and 24440.25. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 2.42%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.87%, Sun Pharma Inds. up by 0.71%, Axis Bank up by 0.69% and Britannia up by 0.43%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 18.92%, Shriram Finance down by 6.23%, Adani Enterprises down by 5.86%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 4.87% and Coal India down by 3.61% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 155.93 points or 0.67% to 23,348.45, Hang Seng advanced 100.53 points or 0.49% to 20,590.15, Shanghai Composite strengthened 19.44 points or 0.59% to 3,299.70 and KOSPI was up by 2.24 points or 0.09% to 2,583.27. On the flip side, Straits Times fell 13.9 points or 0.39% to 3,591.05, Jakarta Composite plunged 29.88 points or 0.39% to 7,686.67 and Nikkei 225 was down by 229.37 points or 0.6% to 37,913.92.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 11.2 points or 0.14% to 8,258.18, France’s CAC fell 18.03 points or 0.24% to 7,485.25 and Germany’s DAX was down by 13.67 points or 0.07% to 19,429.33.