| The headline equity benchmarks traded with limited losses in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,400 level. Auto shares extended losses for the third consecutive trading session. Trading was volatile due to weekly F&O series expiry today.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, shed 40.55 points or 0.05% to 80,034.68. The Nifty 50 index lost 43.95 points or 0.18% to 24,391.55.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.20% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.63%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,494 shares rose and 2,388 shares fell. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
India's private sector economy continued to showcase robust growth in October, according to the latest HSBC ‘flash’ PMI survey compiled by S&P Global.
The HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India's manufacturing and service sectors stood at 58.6 in October 2024 as compared with 58.3 in September 2024. Manufacturers outperformed service providers regarding rates of expansion for output and sales, and also recorded faster increases in input costs and selling charges.
The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI – a single-figure snapshot of factory business conditions calculated from measures of new orders, output, employment, supplier delivery times and stocks of purchases – recovered from September's eight-month low of 56.5 to 57.4 in October.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index slipped 0.53% to 24,320.95. The index fell 3.68% in three consecutive trading sessions.
TVS Motor Company (down 2.74%), Samvardhana Motherson International (down 2.67%), Bajaj Auto (down 2.61%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 2.03%), Apollo Tyres (down 1.41%), Exide Industries (down 0.84%), Hero MotoCorp (down 0.79%), MRF (down 0.78%), Bosch (down 0.52%) and Balkrishna Industries (down 0.44%) declined.
On the other hand, Ashok Leyland (up 1.46%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.42%) and Bharat Forge (up 0.69%) edged higher.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.04% to 6.933 as compared with previous close 6.936.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 84.0750, compared with its close of 84.0775 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 December 2024 settlement rose 0.65% to Rs 78,318.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.24% to 104.18.
The United States 10-year bond yield fell 1.11% to 4.198.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2024 settlement gained $1.05 or 1.40% to $76.01 a barrel.
Stocks in spotlight:
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) tumbled 5.76% after the company reported 3.86% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 2,612 crore on 1.94% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 15,319 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q2 FY24.
Pidilite Industries added 0.41%. The company reported 17.83% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 540.30 crore in Q2 FY25 as against Rs 458.53 crore posted in Q2 FY24. Revenue from operations grew 5.16% YoY to Rs 3,234.91 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2024.
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