Benchmarks continue to trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, amid weak global cues. Traders remained cautious with the Reserve Bank of India's state of the economy report stated that the rise in headline inflation can damage the real economy if not checked, even as the festive consumption demand and farm sector recovery have helped the Indian economy to overcome a lull seen in the second quarter and put it back on track. Some concern also came as Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth’s statement that India’s economic growth may have slowed in the September quarter, but overall, there is not much downside risk to 6.5-7 per cent growth in the current fiscal year. Sector-wise, paper industry stocks remained in limelight as Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) said paper and paperboard imports rose by 3.5 per cent to 992,000 tonnes in the April-September period of 2024-25, driven by a sharp rise in shipments from China. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as traders remain cautious and are reluctant to make more significant moves as they kept an eye on the escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76997.70, down by 580.68 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 76802.73 and 77711.11. 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 0.99%, while Small cap index was down by 1.26%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.15% and TECK up by 0.12%, while Utilities down by 4.47%, PSU down by 2.83%, Power down by 2.76%, Oil & Gas down by 2.26% and Basic Materials down by 1.88% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation up by 1.33%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.96%, HCL Technologies up by 0.56%, Sun Pharma up by 0.55% and TCS up by 0.53%. On the flip side, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 15.00%, SBI down by 4.03%, Indusind Bank down by 3.01%, NTPC down by 2.72% and ITC down by 1.92% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency Icra has said India's real GDP growth for the September quarter is likely to decline to 6.5 per cent due to heavy rains and weaker corporate performance. However, the agency maintained its FY25 growth estimate at 7 per cent on expectations of a pick up in economic activity in the second half of the fiscal. The estimates and commentary on the outlook come at a time when there are concerns around the growth slowdown on a slew of factors like slowing down urban demand.

The RBI is sticking to its estimate of 7.2 per cent growth for the fiscal, but a majority of watchers expect it to be under the 7 per cent figure and many have been revising down in the last few weeks. Official data for the Q2 economic activity is expected to be published on November 30. In Q1, the GDP expansion had come at 6.7 per cent.

Icra's chief economist Aditi Nayar said ‘Q2 FY25 saw tailwinds in terms of a pick-up in capex after the Parliamentary Elections as well as healthy expansion in sowing of major kharif crops. Several sectors faced headwinds on account of heavy rainfall, which affected mining activity, electricity demand and retail footfalls, and a contraction in merchandise exports.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23316.30, down by 202.20 points or 0.86% after trading in a range of 23263.15 and 23507.30. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid Corporation up by 1.21%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.05%, Hindalco up by 0.94%, Trent up by 0.93% and HCL Technologies up by 0.62%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 20.00%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 15.00%, SBI down by 4.22%, Indusind Bank down by 3.05% and NTPC down by 3.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 330.68 points or 0.86% to 38,021.66, Taiwan Weighted lost 85.14 points or 0.38% to 22,603.22, Hang Seng declined 24.78 points or 0.13% to 19,680.23 and Shanghai Composite weakened 3.35 points or 0.1% to 3,364.64.

On the flip side, KOSPI increased 10.06 points or 0.41% to 2,492.35, Straits Times rose 4.34 points or 0.12% to 3,747.98 and Jakarta Composite gained 23.21 points or 0.32% to 7,203.55.