Markets remain weak in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets remained weak in late afternoon session due to weakness in stocks of IT and Private Bank. Further, traders took a cautious approach amid monthly F&O expiry day for the November series. Meanwhile, investors overlooked the article in RBI bulletin indicating that the Indian economy showed signs of a further pick up in momentum, despite continuing global headwinds. Available high-frequency indicators for October suggest a robust expansion in both manufacturing and services activities, supported by festive season demand and the ongoing positive impact of the GST reforms. 

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mixed after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an April visit to China at Xi Jinping's invitation following a productive phone call. European equity markets were trading mostly in green as investors awaited a slew of U.S. economic data for fresh insights into the economic and rate outlook.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 84855.41, down by 45.30 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 84765.10 and 85110.24. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.17%, while Small cap index was up by 0.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.72%, Metal up by 0.54%, Healthcare up by 0.44%, PSU up by 0.42% and Basic Materials up by 0.37%, while IT down by 0.76%, Oil & Gas down by 0.41%, TECK down by 0.37%, Consumer Durables down by 0.35%, Utilities down by 0.20% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 1.69%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.67%, Reliance Industries up by 0.80%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.63% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.59%. On the flip side, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 1.30%, Infosys down by 1.27%, HCL Technologies down by 0.90%, Power Grid Corporation of India down by 0.81% and TCS down by 0.74% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its November monthly bulletin has said that global uncertainty remains elevated, although October witnessed a slight pullback after more than a year of continuous increase. It said concerns persist about the heightened exuberance in global equity markets, raising questions about its sustainability and its implications for financial stability. 

As per an article on 'State of the Economy' published in the November bulletin, the Indian economy showed signs of a further pick up in momentum, despite continuing global headwinds. Available high-frequency indicators for October suggest a robust expansion in both manufacturing and services activities, supported by festive season demand and the ongoing positive impact of the GST reforms. 

The Reserve Bank of India further noted that inflation has moderated to a historic low and remained well below the target rate. It also added that financial conditions remained benign, and the flow of financial resources to the commercial sector increased significantly from a year ago.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25958.45, down by 1.05 points or 0.00% after trading in a range of 25924.15 and 26032.60. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.13%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.80%, SBI up by 1.74%, Shriram Finance up by 1.26% and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories up by 1.22%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 2.23%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 1.28%, Infosys down by 1.12%, TCS down by 0.72% and Wipro down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 407.93 points or 1.52% to 26,912.17, Hang Seng advanced 219.5 points or 0.85% to 25,936.00, KOSPI increased 11.72 points or 0.3% to 3,857.78 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 33.25 points or 0.86% to 3,870.02, while Nikkei 225 slipped 5.88 points or 0.01% to 48,620.00, Straits Times fell 12.35 points or 0.27% to 4,484.28 and Jakarta Composite plunged 60.52 points or 0.71% to 8,509.73.

European equity markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.76 points or 0.14% to 9,548.67 and France’s CAC rose 17.53 points or 0.22% to 7,977.20, while Germany’s DAX lost 9.38 points or 0.04% to 23,229.80.