Benchmarks tumble for 5th day amid Middle East tensions, FPI selling

Domestic benchmark indices continued their downward trend for the fifth consecutive session on Friday, primarily driven by concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East. Banking, FMCG, and auto stocks were particularly hard hit. The Nifty settled a below the 25,050 mark after hitting the day�s high of 25,485.05 in early afternoon trade.

The S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 808.65 points or 0.98% to 81,688.45. The Nifty 50 index dropped 235.50 points or 0.93% to 25,014.60. The 50-unit index has fallen 4.45% in five consecutive sessions.

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 3.58%), HDFC Bank (down 1.51%) and Reliance Industries (down 1.47%) were major drags today.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.94% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.80%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,563 shares rose and 2,387 shares fell. A total of 104 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 7.27% to 14.13.

The escalating conflict in the Middle East has raised fears of potential disruptions to crude oil supplies from the region, a major concern for net importers like India. As a result, crude oil prices have been on the rise, adding to inflationary pressures and dampening market sentiment.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been pulling out funds from India, with net selling of Rs 30,614 crore in the cash market over the past three days. This outflow is partly attributed to the recent stimulus measures implemented by the Chinese government, which has made the Chinese market more attractive to foreign investors.

Investors are now eagerly awaiting the release of the US September nonfarm payrolls report later today. The data will provide insights into the strength of the US labor market and could influence global market sentiment and currency movements.

Economy:

The HSBC India Services PMI survey, compiled by S&P Global, revealed strong sector performance in September, although growth rates for total new business, international sales, and output moderated compared to previous months.

Despite robust job creation and rising business confidence, the Services Business Activity Index declined from 60.9 in August to 57.7 in September. While still above the neutral mark of 50.0, this indicates a slight slowdown in overall business activity.

The deceleration in output growth, the weakest since November 2023, was attributed to factors such as intense competition, cost pressures, and evolving consumer preferences towards online services. Although new business intakes remained strong, their growth rate decreased to a ten-month low. Furthermore, international sales growth weakened significantly, mirroring broader trends in the private sector.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.71% to 6.937 as compared with previous close 6.888.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.9675, compared with its close of 83.9600 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 December 2024 settlement rose 0.13% to Rs 76,345.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.09% to 101.90.

The United States 10-year bond yield grew 0.26% to 3.867.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2024 settlement gained $1.08 or 1.39% to $78.70 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Friday as traders continue to monitor the escalating conflict in the Middle East and look ahead to the latest U.S. jobs report.

U.S. President Joe Biden warned that the U.S. was considering strikes on Iranian oil facilities in response to Tehran`s missile attack on Israel. Meanwhile, Israel continued its military campaign against the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, with new air strikes targeting Beirut.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday, though they recovered from intraday losses. Traders remained cautious amid the ongoing Middle East conflict and the anticipation of the jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.44%, the S&P 500 fell by 0.17%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.04%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

TARC soared 3.02% on stellar Q2 presales of Rs 1,012 crore. This marks a massive ~900% YoY growth. The company`s total presales for H1FY25 now stand at Rs 1,322 crore, showcasing a ~600% increase from last year.

Super Crop Safe shares soared 18% as the company secured 46 new molecule registrations and plans to file for 15 more with the Central Insecticide Board of India.

Honasa Consumer shares plunged 4.04% after the Dubai Court rejected the grievances filed by the company & RSM General Trading LLC and ordered to attach assets of Honasa Consumer in UAE along with refusal to cancel the trading license of Honasa Consumer General Trading LLC.

HDFC Bank slipped 1.51%. The company stated that the bank�s advances under management were Rs 26,33,500 crore as of 30 September 2024, a growth of around 8% over Rs 24,37,400 crore as of 30 September 2023.

Avenue Supermarts (DMart) dropped 4.12%. The company announced that the total number of DMart stores as of 30 September2024 stood at 377. The company has reported standalone revenue of Rs 14,050.32 crore in Quarter ended 30 September2024, recording a growth of 14.16% from Rs 12,307.72 crore posted in the same period a year ago.

Angel One fell 2.88%. The company said that its client base jumped 61% to 27.49 million in September 2024 as compared with 17.07 million in September 2023.

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services slipped 6.36% after the company�s overall disbursement for Q2 FY25 was Rs 13,160 crore, which is a YoY decline of 1% over previous year.

Bank of Baroda rallied 2.24% after the global business of the bank aggregated to Rs 25,06,809 crore as of 30 September 2024, up by 10.23% from Rs 22,74,148 crore as on 30 September 2023.

Sundaram-Clayton fell 0.35%. The company announced that its board has approved the opening of qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue of equity shares with the floor price of Rs 2,320.78 per share.

Vedanta shed 0.57%. The diversified minerals company informed that its total aluminum production rose 3% to 6,09,000 tonnes in Q2 FY25 as compared with 5,94,000 tonnes posted in Q2 FY24.

Capital Small Finance Bank shed 0.5%. The bank�s gross advances jumped by 14.52% to Rs 6,718 crore as on 30 September 2024 as against Rs 5,866 crore recorded as on 30 September 2023.

Aarti Drugs added 1.24% after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (UK MHRA) granted a Certificate of GMP Compliance of a Manufacturer for its arm, Pinnacle Life Science�s manufacturing facility in Himachal Pradesh.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals rose 0.23%. The pharma said that it has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (US FDA) for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) Alcaftadine Ophthalmic Solution.

Oriental Rail Infrastructure gained 1.75% after the company announced that it has secured an order worth Rs 3.67 crore from Western Railways (WR), Mahalaxmi, Indian Railways.

New Listing:

Shares of Diffusion Engineers closed at Rs 197.35 on the BSE, a premium of 17.47% as compared with the issue price of Rs 168.

The scrip was listed at Rs 188, a premium of 11.90% to the issue price. The stock has hit a high of 197.35 and a low of 188. On the BSE, over 1.62 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

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