In the week ended on Friday, 18 October 2024, the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 156.61 points or 0.19% to settle at 81,224.75. The Nifty 50 index declined 110.20 points or 0.44% to settle at 24,854.05. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.18% to close at 56,600.05. The BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.01% to end at 47,946.53.

Weekly Index Movement:

The key domestic benchmarks ended with strong gains on Monday. The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 591.69 points or 0.73% to 81,973.05. The Nifty 50 index added 163.70 points or 0.66% to 25,127.95.

Domestic equity benchmarks ended lower on Tuesday amid mixed global cues, with the Nifty50 index closing below 25,100. The S&P BSE Sensex was down 152.93 points or 0.19% to 81,820.12. The Nifty 50 index fell 70.60 points or 0.28% to 25,057.35.

Domestic equity benchmark indices continued their downward trend on Wednesday, closing lower for the second consecutive session. The S&P BSE Sensex declined 318.76 points or 0.39% to 81,501.36. The Nifty 50 index lost 86.05 points or 0.34% to 24,971.30.

The domestic equity indices extended their losing streak for the third consecutive session on Thursday, The S&P BSE Sensex, declined 494.75 points or 0.61% to 81,006.61. The Nifty 50 index slipped 221.45 points or 0.89% to 24,749.85. The 50-unit index has fallen 1.50% in three sessions.

The key equity barometers ended with limited gains on Friday, snapping a three-day losing streak. The S&P BSE Sensex, was up 218.14 points or 0.27% to 81,224.75. The Nifty 50 index added 104.20 points or 0.42% to 24,854.05.

Economy:

India's wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rose to 1.84% in September as food items, especially vegetables, turned costlier, as per the government data released on Monday. The inflation was 1.31% in August. It was (-)0.07% in September last year.

India’s trade deficit or the gap between imports and exports was $20.78 billion during the month of September. The trade deficit narrowed from $29.7 billion a month back, according to data released on October 16, as merchandise export growth turned positive for the first time in three months. India's merchandise exports in September slightly rose to $34.58 billion against $34.41 billion a year ago. Imports increased by 1.6% to $55.36 billion in September compared to $54.49 billion in the year-ago period.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) declined 0.87%. The company reported 3.6% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 19,101 crore in Q2 FY25 from Rs 19,820 crore in Q2 FY24. Gross revenue rose by 0.8% year-over-year to Rs 258,027 crore in the second quarter. EBITDA decreased by 2% to Rs 43,934 crore in Q2 FY25 from Rs 44,809 crore in Q2 FY24. EBITDA margin in Q2 FY25 was 17% in Q2 FY25 as against 17.5% in Q2 FY24.

Meanwhile, the company set Monday, 28 October 2024, as the record date for the proposed 1:1 bonus share issue.

Further, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Reliance Brands Holding UK and Mothercare plc will form a joint venture that will own the Mothercare brand and its intellectual property assets related to the regions of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.

HCL Technologies rose 0.79%. The company’s consolidated net profit fell 0.52% to Rs 4,237 crore in Q2 FY25 as compared with Rs 4,259 crore in Q1 FY25. Revenue from operations increased 2.87% YoY to Rs 28,862 crore during the quarter.

Wipro jumped 3.6%. The IT giant’s consolidated net profit grew 6.85% to Rs 3,208.8 crore on 1.54% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 22,301.6 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q1 FY25.

Meanwhile, the board of directors recommended bonus equity shares in the proportion of 1 bonus equity share for every 1 equity share held (1 :1) and a bonus issue [stock dividend on American Depositary Share (ADS)] of 1 ADS for every 1 ADS held, as on the record date, subject to approval of the members of the company.

Infosys declined 2.68%. The company reported 2.2% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 6,506 crore on a 4.25% increase in revenues to Rs 40,986 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q1 FY25.

Nestle India slipped 6.42%. The FMCG major's standalone net profit rose 8.62% to Rs 986.36 crore on 1.33% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 5,104 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q2 FY24. During Q2 FY25, domestic sales grew by 1.23% YoY to Rs 4,883.14 crore, while export sales gained 3.13% YoY to Rs 191.62 crore.

Avenue Supermarts(DMart) tumbled 12.68%. The company reported a 5.77% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 659.58 crore in Q2 FY25 as compared with Rs 623.56 crore posted in Q2 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 14.41% to Rs 14,444.50 crore in Q2 FY25 as against Rs 12,624.37 crore recorded in Q2 FY24.

Network18 Media & Investments rose 0.27%. The company’s consolidated net loss widened to Rs 95.84 crore in Q2 FY25 as compared to net loss of Rs 83.08 crore recorded in Q2 FY24. Revenue from operations declined 2.16% to Rs 1,825.18 crore in Q2 FY25 as against Rs 1,865.50 crore posted in Q2 FY24.

Bajaj Auto tumbled 15.52%. The auto maker's profit after tax 9% to Rs 2,005 crore on 22% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 13,127 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q2 FY24. The revenue was underpinned by double digit volume growth on the back of yet another robust domestic performance and a steady recovery of exports, further buoyed by a richer sales mix.

CRISIL rose 0.05%. The company reported 12.9% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 171.55 crore in Q3 CY2024 from Rs 151.99 crore in Q3 CY2023. Consolidated total income was up 7.9% to Rs 833.2 crore in 03 2024, compared with Rs 771.8 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Global market:

China's consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4% from a year earlier last month, against a 0.6% rise in August. CPI was unchanged month-on-month, versus a 0.4% gain in August and below an estimated 0.4% increase. Meanwhile, the producer price index (PPI) fell 2.8% year-on-year in September, versus a 1.8% decline the previous month.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand in the US rose 1.8% on a yearly basis in September. This reading followed the 1.9% increase recorded in August. The US consumer price index for all urban consumers rise by 0.2% month on month (MoM) on a seasonally-adjusted basis in September, the same rise as in August and July.

The UK's statistics agency said average wages excluding bonuses rose 4.9% year on year across June to August, cooling slightly from 5.1% in May to July.

Inflation in the U.K. dropped sharply to 1.7% in September, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.

Investors assessed trade data out of South Korea, which showed trade surplus surging to $6.7 billion in September, up from $3.7 billion in August.

Japan’s exports fell 1.7% in September compared to the same period last year. September’s import growth came in at 2.1% as compared with 2.3% in August 2024.

Chinese GDP grew 4.6% year-on-year in the three months to September 30, but slowing from the 4.7% seen in the prior quarter. GDP grew 0.9% quarter-on-quarter, slightly missing expectations of 1%. This brought year-to-date GDP growth to 4.8%, still below Beijing’s 5% annual target.

Separate data on Friday showed China’s industrial production and retail sales both grew more than expected in September, while the country’s unemployment rate fell to 5.1% against expectations it would remain at 5.3%. Meanwhile, China’s house prices fell 5.8% year-over-year in September, a larger drop than 5.3% in August.

Japan's Core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food items, grew 2.4% year-on-year in September, government data showed on Friday. The reading eased from the 2.8%- a 10-month high- seen in the prior month. A core reading that excludes both fresh food and energy prices, and is watched closely by the Bank of Japan as a gauge of underlying inflation, rose to 2.1% in September from 2% in the prior month. Headline CPI inflation fell to 2.5% from 3% in the prior month.