Indian equity benchmarks were trading lower in morning deals, due to losses in FMCG, IT and Utilities stocks, following weakness in global markets. Traders remained cautious as the RBI said India's forex kitty dropped by $8.57 billion to $726.02 billion during the week ended October 9. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had dropped by $12.95 billion to $734.60 billion. Traders overlooked the Commerce Ministry’s data showed that India's merchandise exports recorded healthy growth across regions, including Africa, ASEAN and North-East Asia, in April-August this fiscal, reflecting the impact of market diversification initiatives. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid spiking crude oil prices as well as a sell-off in technology and semiconductor stocks on concerns of returns on huge AI infrastructure spending. Escalating Middle East tensions and attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz kept oil-supply disruption risks in focus.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74478.41, down by 250.86 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 74169.23 and 74849.75. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.64%, PSU up by 0.60%, Energy up by 0.49%, Telecom up by 0.36% and Auto up by 0.30%, while FMCG down by 0.79%, IT down by 0.43%, Utilities down by 0.31%, Bankex down by 0.29% and TECK down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 1.88%, State Bank of India up by 1.67%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.29%, Reliance Industries up by 1.09% and Maruti Suzuki India up by 1.04%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 3.54%, HDFC Bank down by 2.12%, Trent down by 1.70%, Infosys down by 1.19% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.12% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that US President Donald Trump's waiver from sanctions, restrictions and tariffs under the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act (SRIA) provides India temporary relief but offers no lasting certainty. India should safeguard its energy security and buy oil on commercial terms.
GTRI stated that the decision provides India with relief from the threatened imposition of additional duties of up to 100 per cent over its purchases of Russian oil. It noted ‘But the relief is reversible. Washington can restore the tariffs anytime, leaving India and other buyers uncertain about future US action.’
Moreover, it said SRIA remains a law, leaving Washington free to revive the tariff threat to extract concessions in bilateral trade talks. It added that Russia’s share of India’s oil imports declined from 51 per cent in July to 44 per cent in August, as India bought more from the US, despite higher prices, and from the UAE.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23080.00, down by 66.15 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 22970.50 and 23175.25. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 2.41%, Eicher Motors up by 1.76%, State Bank of India up by 1.72%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.45% and ONGC up by 1.35%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 3.60%, HDFC Bank down by 2.17%, Trent down by 1.68%, Infosys down by 1.25% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.08% were the top losers.
Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 464.29 points or 0.71% to 64,860.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 296.34 points or 0.63% to 46,814.92, Jakarta Composite plunged 261.47 points or 5.04% to 4,923.64 and Shanghai Composite weakened 1.56 points or 0.04% to 3,714.72.
On the flip side, KOSPI increased 40.76 points or 0.72% to 5,708.81 and Straits Times rose 19.52 points or 0.36% to 5,435.05.
