At 9:35 am, the BSE Sensex was down 34.20 points, or 0.04%, at 79,452, while the Nifty50 lost 8.80 points, or 0.04%, trading at 24,139.40.
Analysts have stated that ongoing foreign selling and earnings downgrades are likely to maintain investor caution and put continued pressure on the markets.
Foreign portfolio investors have sold Indian shares for 30 consecutive sessions, withdrawing approximately $13 billion, largely redirecting investments to China amid Beijing’s stimulus measures.
From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, and Bajaj Finance opened with cuts, while Tata Motors, Power Grid, Maruti, M&M, and SBI opened with gains.
Asian Paints shares fell over 9% in early trade after the company reported a 42.5% YoY fall in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September 2024.Among individual stocks, ITI surged 8.4% after the company emerged as the lowest bidder for 3 packages of BharatNet Phase-3 project for a total value of Rs 4,559 crore.On the sectoral front, Nifty IT and Auto gained 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, sectors such as Nifty Bank, FMCG, Metal, Pharma, Healthcare, Consumer Durables, and Oil & Gas saw declines. In the broader market, the Nifty Smallcap 100 dropped 0.8%, while the Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.5%.
Experts View
“In India worse-than-expected earnings downgrades for FY25 are weighing on stock prices favouring the bears in the near-term. FIIs may continue to sell and move money to the US which has outperformed India so far this year. However, at some point valuations in India will become attractive and this will aid trend reversal favouring the bulls for a short while,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
“The weakness in Chinese stocks consequent to the disappointing stimulus package will turn out to be positive for Indian stocks,” Vijayakumar added.
Mandar Bhojane of Choice Broking, said, “On the downside, the 24,000 and 23,650 levels are expected to provide strong support, potentially presenting buying opportunities for long positions. If Nifty sustains above 24,500 in the coming week, we may see it gain momentum to test higher levels around 24,800 and 25,200. However, if the support levels at 24,000 and 23,650 are breached, further downside pressure could ensue.”
Global Markets
Hong Kong stocks led declines in Asia on Monday after Beijing’s latest stimulus fell short of investor expectations, overshadowing Wall Street’s record highs from Friday and futures pointing to further strength at the reopen.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tumbled 2.5%, with a sub-index of mainland Chinese property shares tumbling 3.9%. Chinese blue chips weakened 0.3%. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.3%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.9% and Taiwan’s benchmark slipped 0.7%.
S&P 500 futures pointed 0.2% higher on Monday.
FII/DII Tracker
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,404 crore on November 8, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 1,748 crore, balancing some of the selling pressure.
Oil Slips
Oil prices extended declines on Monday as the threat of a supply disruption from a U.S. storm eased and after China’s stimulus plan disappointed investors seeking fuel demand growth in the world’s No. 2 oil consumer.
Brent crude futures dropped 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $73.68 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $70.13 a barrel, down 25 cents, or 0.4%. Both benchmarks fell more than 2% last Friday.
Rupee Declines to Record Low
The Indian rupee weakened to its lowest level on record on Monday, as worries about Donald Trump’s victory in the US election maintained pressure on Asian currencies while sustained outflows from Indian stocks weighed on the local currency.
The rupee dipped to a low of 84.3875 in early trading, eclipsing its previous all-time low of 84.38 hit on Friday.
Asian currencies were mostly weaker between 0.1% to 0.4% while the dollar index was little changed at 105, hovering close to a four-month high hit last week in the wake of the Trump win.
(With inputs from agencies)
