Sensex, Nifty trade in red with marginal cut in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made negative start and turned volatile on Tuesday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street along with mixed cues from Asian counterparts, as traders remained cautious and seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the closely contested US presidential election later in the day and the US Fed's upcoming interest rate decision later this week. The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by another 25 basis points, but traders will be looking to the accompanying statement for clues about the likelihood of future rate cuts. Closer home, Sensex and Nifty are trading in red with marginal cut in early deals. Overnight sharp rise in crude oil prices also hurt domestic investors. Oil prices climbed nearly 2% on Monday on OPEC+’s decision to delay plans to increase output by a month, while the market braced for a critical week in which Americans will elect a new president. Continued foreign fund outflows dented sentiments in the markets.  As per NSE data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) were net sellers of Indian equities worth Rs 4,329.79 crore. 

On the sectoral front, renewable energy stocks are in focus after Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi said India is on its way to achieving the target of 500 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030. Joshi said India’s solar rooftop initiatives is one of the best schemes to encourage renewable energy usage. In stock specific development, ABB India tumbled after quarterly results missed estimates.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78574.75, down by 207.49 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 78455.66 and 78833.88. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.42%, while Small cap index was down by 0.21%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Basic Materials up by 0.34% and Metal up by 0.15%, while Capital Goods down by 0.87%, Realty down by 0.82%, Energy down by 0.78%, Industrials down by 0.63% and Power down by 0.59% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.66%, Tata Steel up by 1.36%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.86%, JSW Steel up by 0.85% and Tata Motors up by 0.84%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 2.28%, ITC down by 0.94%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.68%, Reliance Industries down by 0.67% and Infosys down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over solar investments, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has asserted that global solar investments will touch $500 billion this year from the $393 billion level in 2023 and said it is the most affordable energy source in many regions, surpassing coal and gas. He added these investments are not only adding new capacity but also driving down the cost of energy from solar worldwide.

Joshi, who is also President of International Solar Alliance (ISA), said ‘This rapid growth is fuelled by record-breaking investments. Global solar investments have grown from $144 billion in 2018 to $393 billion in 2023 and are expected to reach $500 billion by the end of 2024.’ He stated today solar power has become the most affordable source of electricity in many regions, surpassing coal and gas. 

He also informed that ISA is guided by the 'Towards 1000' strategy which aims to mobilise $1,000 billion of investments in solar energy solutions by 2030. He added ‘This is our strategy: to deliver energy access to 1,000 million people; installation of 1,000 GW of solar energy capacity; and mitigate emissions to the tune of 1,000 MT of carbon dioxide every year’. He stated that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, India has set ambitious renewable energy targets, and achieved remarkable milestones.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23938.65, down by 56.70 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 23908.65 and 24026.25. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 1.52%, Tata Steel up by 1.40%, Hindalco up by 1.11%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.98% and Tata Motors up by 0.86%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 3.09%, Adani Ports &Special down by 2.46%, Trent down by 1.98%, Shriram Finance down by 1.08% and ITC down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 481.39 points or 1.27% to 38,535.06, Hang Seng advanced 255.84 points or 1.24% to 20,823.36, Taiwan Weighted added 125.21 points or 0.55% to 23,090.60 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 59.49 points or 1.77% to 3,369.70. On the other hand, Jakarta Composite declined 17.13 points or 0.23% to 7,462.37, Straits Times inched fell 3 points or 0.08% to 3,569.04 and KOSPI was down by 6.49 points or 0.25% to 2,582.48.