Bourses continue to reel under pressure in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued to reel under pressure in late afternoon session weighed down by a sharp sell-off in Adani group stocks. The escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict also dampened the investors sentiments. Market-participants were eyeing the data of HSBC Composite PMI Flash, HSBC Manufacturing PMI Flash, HSBC Services PMI Flash, Foreign Exchange Reserves, which scheduled to be released on November 22. Meanwhile, sentiments remained downbeat as 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.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as People's Bank of China holding rates steady and the uncertainty about the US Fed's interest rate moves rendered the mood cautious. European markets were trading lower amidst renewed tensions between Russia and Ukraine. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77118.79, down by 459.59 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 76802.73 and 77711.11. There were 10 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. 

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.25%, while Small cap index was down by 0.64%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.52%, IT up by 0.16% and TECK was up by 0.10%, while Utilities down by 3.11%, FMCG down by 1.64%, PSU down by 1.61%, Energy down by 1.51% and Oil & Gas was down by 1.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.21%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.39%, HCL Tech up by 0.70%, Tata Steel up by 0.68% and Axis Bank up by 0.51%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 12.04%, NTPC down by 2.69%, SBI down by 2.65%, Indusind Bank down by 2.61% and ITC down by 2.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Provisional payroll data’ report has showed that 18.81 lakh net members have been added in the month of September 2024, a 9.33% year-on-year growth as compared to September 2023, signifying increased employment opportunities and heightened awareness of employee benefits, bolstered by EPFO’s effective outreach initiatives.

EPFO enrolled around 9.47 lakh new members in September 2024, representing an increase of 6.22% in the new members from the previous year in September 2023. This surge in new memberships can be attributed to growing employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits, and EPFO's successful outreach programs.

Gender-wise, out of the new members added during the month, around 2.47 lakhs are new female members. This figure exhibits year-over-year growth of 9.11% compared to September 2023. Also, the net female member addition during the month stood at around 3.70 lakh. It reflects a year over year growth of 12.11% compared to September 2023. The surge in female member additions is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

State-wise, net member addition in the top five states/ UTs constitutes around 59.86% of net member addition, adding a total around 11.26 lakh net members during the month. Of all the states, Maharashtra is leading by adding 21.20% of net members during the month. The states/UTs of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana individually added more than 5% of the total net members during the month.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23343.70, down by 174.80 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 23263.15 and 23507.30. There were 13 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 2.30%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.68%, Grasim Industries up by 1.65%, Hindalco up by 0.99% and Tata Steel up by 0.69%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 18.44%, Adani Ports down by 11.77%, NTPC down by 3.01%, SBI down by 2.76% and SBI Life down by 2.69% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 326.17 points or 0.86% to 38,026.17, Taiwan Weighted lost 132.7 points or 0.59% to 22,555.66, Hang Seng declined 103.9 points or 0.53% to 19,601.11, Jakarta Composite plunged 21.75 points or 0.3% to 7,158.59, Straits Times fell 4.05 points or 0.11% to 3,739.59 and KOSPI was down by 1.66 points or 0.07% to 2,480.63. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was up by 2.41 points or 0.07% to 3,370.40.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 5.75 points or 0.07% to 8,079.32, France’s CAC fell 32.89 points or 0.46% to 7,165.56 and Germany’s DAX was down by 45.82 points or 0.24% to 18,958.96.