Indian equity markets are likely to get a cautious start on Friday tracking weak cues from global markets amid selloff in technology stocks and as crude oil prices stay elevated. Crude oil prices rose on signs the US may resume military strikes against Iran. Foreign fund outflows likely to weigh on market sentiments. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equites worth Rs 943.60 crore on October 29.
Some of the key factors to be watched:
India's economy estimated to grow 7.35% in July-September quarter: The Finance Ministry's October Monthly Economic Review showed that India's economy is estimated to have grown by 7.35 per cent in the July-September quarter of the current financial year (FY27), supported by strong domestic demand, industrial activity and higher consumption.
Rupee should be India’s first line of defence against energy shocks: The IMF has said exchange rate flexibility should be the preferable policy response to help the Indian economy adjust to energy shocks, amid reports that the RBI resorted to massive market intervention to prop up the rupee.
Year 2026 resembles 1991, could be deemed as inflection point for Indian economy: Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said the year 2026 resembles 1991, and it could be deemed an inflection point for the Indian economy, which has been facing not only external challenges but also structural constraints in manufacturing, energy, agriculture and technology.
Govt should support both job-creating and frontier industries: S Mahendra Dev, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), said the government should support job-creating labour-intensive sectors as well as frontier industries in the coming years, and support to them should be well-designed, linked to clear goals, and reviewed regularly.
India's pharma exports rise 4.9% in H1; shipments to Europe up nearly 10%: The Pharmexcil data showed that India's pharmaceutical exports grew nearly 5 per cent to $16.13 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year, driven by strong demand from Europe, ASEAN, and Latin America.
On the global front: The US markets ended lower on Thursday, with tech-laden Nasdaq leading losses after Alphabet's disappointing quarterly results. Asian markets are trading mostly in red on Friday weighed down by selling in technology stocks, following overnight losses on Wall Street.
Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended with strong gains on Thursday, with the benchmark indices rallying over a percent each, amid broad-based buying across sectors, barring auto stocks. Sentiment was supported after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, as widely expected, and oil prices eased following fresh diplomatic efforts to end the war in the Middle East. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 905.01 points or 1.24% to 74,151.04 and the CNX Nifty was up by 237.90 points or 1.05% to 22,936.75.
Some of the important factors in trade:
India, Liechtenstein discuss investment under EFTA TEPA: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met Liechtenstein's Hereditary Prince Alois to discuss strengthening economic ties and exploring investment opportunities under the India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA).
India stays on path of fiscal consolidation: Poonam Gupta, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that India has stayed on the path of fiscal consolidation, even as deficits and debt have risen in many other countries. Its general-government debt is projected to decline by about 9 percentage points of GDP by 2031-32, and it faces neither rollover risk nor runaway risk.
Cabinet approves Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme: The Union Cabinet has approved the Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme (CMPS) with budgetary outlay of Rs 10,000 crore upto FY 2039-40 envisages to establish a globally competitive container manufacturing ecosystem in India, reduce import dependence and strengthen supply-chain resilience.