Key gauges snap three-day winning streak

Snapping three-day gaining streak, Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Friday due to profit-taking in blue-chip shares HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank and Trent. Traders overlooked the exchange data showing that Foreign Institutional Investors bought equities worth Rs 366.69 crore on a net basis on Thursday. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

Net direct tax collection grows 9.18% till September 17 this fiscal: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in its latest data has showed that net direct tax collection grew 9.18 per cent to over Rs 10.82 lakh crore till September 17 in this fiscal (FY26), due to higher advance tax mop-up from corporates and slower refunds. 

India, UAE target to double non-oil, non-precious metal trade to $100 billion in next 3-4 years: India and the UAE have set a target to double bilateral trade in non-oil and non-precious metal to $100 billion over the next 3-4 years.

Fiscal discipline must for promoting economic growth, prosperity: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra has emphasized on the importance of fiscal discipline for promoting economic growth and prosperity, during the 35th Conference of the State Finance Secretaries. 

Rupee rises against US Dollar amid trade optimism: Indian rupee appreciated against the US dollar, supported by optimism on US-India trade negotiations.

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in red with investors mostly making cautious moves, assessing recent policy announcements from central banks, and continuing to weigh the potential impact of tariffs on economic growth. Asian markets settled mostly down despite Wall Street's main indexes reaching new record highs overnight following the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate cut in nine months. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 387.73 points or 0.47% to 82,626.23 and the CNX Nifty was down by 96.55 points or 0.38% to 25,327.05.     

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 82,978.63 and 82,485.92 respectively. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.  

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.09%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.56%, Power up by 1.30%, Oil & Gas up by 0.67%, PSU up by 0.60% and Realty up by 0.46%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.52%, Bankex down by 0.46%, FMCG down by 0.39%, IT down by 0.30% and Auto down by 0.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.09%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.05%, SBI up by 0.91%, NTPC up by 0.55% and Sun Pharma up by 0.43%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.76%, ICICI Bank down by 1.32%, Trent down by 1.26%, Titan Company down by 1.26% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran has said he expects that a solution to the tariff issues with the US is likely to be arrived in the next eight to ten weeks. The US imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff imposed on Indian products for the country's purchases of Russian oil, which came into effect in August, bringing the total amount of levy on New Delhi to 50 per cent.

He said ‘Underneath the surface, conversations are going on between the two governments. My hunch is that in the next eight to ten weeks, we will likely see a solution to the tariff imposed by the US on Indian goods’. India’s exports to the US stood at $85 billion.

Terming India as an aspirational lower-middle-income economy, he said real GDP growth in the first quarter of the current financial year was 7.8 per cent. He added that post the COVID pandemic, the Indian economy grew faster than many countries.

He said the growth in manufacturing, services and agriculture will contribute to economic progress in a great way in the next two years, and added that consumption and investments will continue to anchor growth for the country. He noted that the recent relief in GST rates will give more disposable income in the hands of consumers, and urban consumption is likely to go up.

The CNX Nifty touched high and low of 25,428.75 and 25,286.30 respectively. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.  

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 5.25%, SBI Life Insurance up by 1.33%, Indusind Bank up by 1.16%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.15% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.97%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.59%, ICICI Bank down by 1.35%, Trent down by 1.21%, Titan Company down by 1.18% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.13% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 5.46 points or 0.06% to 9,222.65 and Germany’s DAX lost 51.03 points or 0.22% to 23,623.50, while France’s CAC rose 9.99 points or 0.13% to 7,864.60.