Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, amid selling in blue-chip Telecom, TECK and IT firms and profit-taking after the recent sharp rally in equities. Traders remained cautious as the RBI said India's forex reserves dropped by $2.691 billion to $717.056 billion during the week ended October 30. In the previous week, the forex kitty had reduced by $1.269 billion to $719.748 billion. However, losses remain capped as some support came with Crisil Ratings’ report stating that states' capital expenditure is expected to increase 10-12 per cent to about Rs 8.5 lakh crore in FY27, driven by higher central assistance and improved fiscal flexibility. Sector wise, auto stocks remained in watch as data released by Federation of Indian Automobile Dealers' Association (FADA) showed electric vehicle sales in the country surged 45 per cent to 3,54,625 units in October from the same month last year, led by e-two-wheeler sales. On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green amid a rebound in semiconductor stocks following the sell-off last week. Some traders are also looking to buy stocks at a bargain following the recent weakness. Markets also kept an eye on the peace talks to end hostilities in the Middle East.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80799.40, down by 200.00 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 80654.05 and 81339.41. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.92%, PSU up by 0.64%, Bankex up by 0.53%, Realty up by 0.42% and Power up by 0.15%, while Telecom down by 2.04%, TECK down by 1.57%, IT down by 1.49%, Metal down by 0.81% and Basic Materials down by 0.71% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were State Bank Of India up by 2.29%, HDFC Bank up by 0.93%, Interglobe Aviation up by 0.88%, ICICI Bank up by 0.86% and Sun Pharma up by 0.76%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.94%, Infosys down by 1.89%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.70%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.69% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.36% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, India and the European Union (EU) have finalised negotiations on India’s association with Horizon Europe, the Euro 93.5 billion European Union research and innovation programme. The development comes weeks before India and the 27-nation bloc are set to seal a landmark free trade agreement -- billed as the ‘mother of all deals’ -- to create a market of two billion people. The EU said the development marks an important step forward for EU-India relations, strengthening scientific cooperation, creating new opportunities in research, and deepening the strategic partnership. India's association with the Horizon programme is seen as part of the comprehensive strategic agenda of the two sides for the next five years.
The EU said for researchers, businesses and research organisations across Europe, India's association will open up more opportunities to collaborate with Indian partners and build lasting scientific and technological links. It mentioned once the agreement is signed and the necessary procedures are completed on both sides, researchers and organisations in India will be able to receive funding directly from Horizon Europe and lead collaborative projects under its Pillar II: 'Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’.
This is the largest part of the programme which funds collaborative, multi-national research and innovation projects tackling societal and technological issues, such as health, digital, industry, space, climate, energy, and bioeconomy. It added the move will create new opportunities for European and Indian partners to pool expertise, develop technologies and address shared challenges.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24931.65, down by 54.75 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 24874.85 and 25084.05. There were 16 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were State Bank of India up by 2.29%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.39%, Dr. Reddy's Labs. up by 1.31%, Tata Consumer Products up by 1.19% and ICICI Bank up by 1.00%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.12%, Infosys down by 2.11%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.62%, Tata Steel down by 1.39% and Bajaj Finance down by 1.33% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 1655.23 points or 2.88% to 59,090.00, Taiwan Weighted added 2278 points or 5.74% to 41,979.64, Jakarta Composite gained 39.05 points or 0.77% to 5,089.48, Shanghai Composite strengthened 13.26 points or 0.36% to 3,662.44, KOSPI increased 52.71 points or 1.04% to 5,112.40 and Hang Seng advanced 25.14 points or 0.1% to 24,507.00.