Domestic markets add more losses in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets added more losses and were trading lower by over one and half percent, which dragged both the Sensex and Nifty below their psychological 78,500 and 23,900 levels respectively. Meanwhile, the broader markets were also facing the heat of selling; the BSE mid-cap index declined by 1.39 per cent and the small-cap index was down 1.79 per cent.  Hectic selling in Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, Adani Ports, NTPC and Tata Motors companies’ stocks dragged the markets to trade near low points of day. Markets participants were cautious as foreign portfolio investors continued to offload Indian equities amid valuation concerns, lingering geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over the U.S. presidential election outcome. On the BSE sectoral front, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in red led by Energy, Oil & Gas, Realty, Metal and PSU.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as investors were closely watching China’s parliament meeting that’s scheduled to kick off today. Chinese authorities are expected to announce more details on fiscal support when the meeting concludes on Friday. Back home, in the stock specific development, Premier Energies surged after the company secured orders worth Rs 560 crore.   

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78420.05, down by 1304.07 points or 1.64% after trading in a range of 78232.60 and 79713.14. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.39%, while Small cap index down by 1.79%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy down by 3.04%, Oil & Gas down by 3.02%, Realty down by 2.59%, Metal down by 2.59% and PSU down by 2.49%, while there were no gainers 

The only gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.16% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.12%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 3.86%, Reliance Industries down by 3.30%, Adani Ports &Special down by 3.17%, NTPC down by 3.03% and Tata Motors down by 2.94% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's power consumption rose marginally by about one per cent to 140.47 billion units (BU) in October 2024 as compared to a year ago, mainly due to heavier base effect. In the year-ago period, the power consumption grew by over 22 per cent to 139.44 BU from 113.94 BU in October 2022. 

The highest supply in a day (peak power demand met) dipped to 219.22 GW in October 2024 from 221.53 GW in the year-ago month. The peak power demand touched an all-time high of about 250 GW in May this year. The previous all-time high peak power demand of 243.27 GW was recorded in September 2023.

Earlier this year, the power ministry projected a peak power demand of 235 GW during the day and 225 GW during evening hours for May while 240 GW during daytime and 235 GW in the evening hours for June. The ministry also estimated that peak power demand may hit 260 GW this summer.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23868.45, down by 435.90 points or 1.79% after trading in a range of 23816.15 and 24316.75. There were 4 stocks advancing against 46 stocks declining on the index.

The few gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 1.07%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.04%, Cipla up by 0.98% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.17%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 5.25%, Bajaj Auto down by 4.83%, BPCL down by 4.30%, Sun Pharma down by 4.13% and Hindalco down by 3.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Shanghai Composite strengthened 10.45 points or 0.32% to 3,282.46, Straits Times rose 21.34 points or 0.6% to 3,576.77, KOSPI increased 37.56 points or 1.46% to 2,579.92 and Taiwan Weighted added 223.77 points or 0.97% to 23,003.85. However, Hang Seng declined 6.53 points or 0.03% to 20,499.90 and Jakarta Composite plunged 65.98 points or 0.89% to 7,439.28.