Markets open in green; fail to hold gains in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made slightly positive start on Monday after a long weekend holiday but soon markets slipped below neutral lines and extended their losses. Sensex and Nifty are trading in red with cut of over half a percent in early deals led by selling in IT and TECK stocks, which fell over 2% each. Sustain foreign fund outflows dented sentiments. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,849.87 crore on November 14. Some cautiousness came as Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the central bank has ensured a soft landing after having faced with various headwinds, but risks of inflation coming back and growth slowing down do remain. Besides, India’s foreign exchange reserves declined for the sixth straight week, mainly due to the Reserve Bank of India’s intervention in the foreign exchange market as the rupee came under pressure from sustained foreign investment outflows. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed, tracking negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. Traders reacted to the US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's recent somewhat hawkish comments, suggesting the Fed can take a careful approach to future monetary policy decisions and doesn't need to hurry to lower rates. Back home, Edible oil industry stocks are in focus as industry body SEA said during the April-October period of the 2024-25 fiscal year, the overall oilmeal exports declined 7 per cent to 23.88 lakh tonnes against 25.66 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period last year, primarily due to lower shipments of rapeseed and castorseed meals. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77074.96, down by 505.35 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 77051.30 and 77886.97. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.78%, while Small cap index was down by 1.53%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.14%, Consumer Durables up by 0.43% and Realty up by 0.05%, while IT down by 2.66%, TECK down by 2.23%, Oil & Gas down by 1.90%, Energy down by 1.64% and Utilities down by 1.41% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC Bank up by 0.95%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.56%, Tata Steel up by 0.54%, Asian Paints up by 0.52% and Titan Company up by 0.10%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.98%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.85%, TCS down by 2.33%, HCL Technologies down by 2.27% and NTPC down by 2.00% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s growth prospects, Moody's Ratings has said that Indian economy is in a sweet spot, with a mix of solid growth and moderating inflation, and forecasted a 7.2 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the 2024 calendar year followed by 6.6 per cent in 2025 and 6.5 per cent in 2026. In its Global Macro Outlook 2025-26, the rating agency said the global economy has shown remarkable resilience in bouncing back from supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, an energy and food crisis after the Russia-Ukraine war began, high inflation and consequent monetary policy tightening. 

It said ‘Most G-20 economies will experience steady growth and continue to benefit from policy easing and supportive commodity prices’. However, post-election changes in US domestic and international policies could potentially accelerate global economic fragmentation, complicating ongoing stabilisation. The aggregate and net effects of trade, fiscal, immigration and regulatory policy changes will expand the range of outcomes for countries and sectors.

On India, it said the real GDP expanded 6.7 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter (April-June) of 2024, driven by a revival in household consumption, robust investment and strong manufacturing activity. High-frequency indicators including expanding manufacturing and services PMIs, robust credit growth and consumer optimism - signal steady economic momentum in Q3. It said household consumption in India is poised to grow, fuelled by increased spending during the ongoing festive season and a sustained pickup in rural demand on the back of an improved agricultural outlook. Additionally, rising capacity utilisation, upbeat business sentiment and the government's continued thrust on infrastructure spending should support private investment.

It further said ‘Sound economic fundamentals, including healthy corporate and bank balance sheets, a stronger external position, and ample foreign exchange reserves also bode well for the growth outlook’. Sporadic food price pressures continue to inject volatility in the disinflation trajectory. Headline inflation breached the upper end of the RBI's 4 per cent (+/-2 per cent) tolerance band for the first time in more than a year in October, accelerating to 6.2 per cent amid a sharp jump in vegetable prices. It said ‘Despite the near-term uptick, inflation should moderate toward the RBI's target in the coming months as food prices ease amid higher sowing and adequate food grain buffer stocks’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23368.35, down by 164.35 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 23366.45 and 23606.80. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.09%, Hindalco up by 3.39%, HDFC Bank up by 1.02%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.54% and Tata Steel up by 0.51%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 3.78%, Wipro down by 3.68%, Tech Mahindra down by 3.16%, Infosys down by 3.04% and TCS down by 2.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 395.44 points or 1.02% to 38,247.47, Taiwan Weighted lost 154.96 points or 0.68% to 22,587.81, Jakarta Composite plunged 4.64 points or 0.06% to 7,156.62 and Straits Times fell 2.85 points or 0.08% to 3,741.85. On the other hand, Hang Seng jumped 229.24 points or 1.18% to 19,655.58, KOSPI increased 47.18 points or 1.95% to 2,464.04 and Shanghai Composite was up by 41.45 points or 1.23% to 3,372.18.