Benchmarks drop in early trade; breadth negative

The key equity indices traded with decent losses in early trade, led by weak sentiment flowing from global markets, due to rising risks of escalating conflict between Israel and its allies on one side, and Iran and its supporters on the other. The Nifty traded below the 25,150 mark. Barring the Nifty IT index, all the other sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the red.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 337.53 points or 0.41% to 82,121.89. The Nifty 50 index declined 116.25 points or 0.46% to 25,124.20.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.37% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.43%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,285 shares rose and 1,368 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 15,243.27 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 12,913.96 crore in the Indian equity market on 3 October 2024, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajaj Housing Finance rose 0.54%. The company's assets under management (AUM) stood at Rs 1.03 Lakh crore in Q2 FY25, up 26% YoY. Its loan assets stood at Rs 89,869 crore in Q2 FY25 as compared with Rs 70,954 crore in the same quarter last year.

Bank of Baroda added 0.96%. The bank's domestic advances increased 12.5% YoY to Rs 9.39 lakh crore in Q2 FY25. Its domestic deposits stood at Rs 11.5 lakh crore, reflecting a 7.1%YoY increase.

Bajaj Finance declined 2.24%. The company's new loan book jumped 14% YoY to Rs 96.9 crore in Q2 FY25. Assets under management (AUM) increased 29% year-on-year to Rs 3.74 lakh crore in Q2 FY25. Net liquidity surplus stood at approximately Rs 20,100 crore as of 30 September 2024. Deposits book increased to Rs 66,100 crore, up 21% YoY as on 30 September 2024.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.98% to 6.911 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 83.9650, compared with its close of 83.9600 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 December 2024 settlement rose 0.10% to Rs 76,321.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.06% to 101.93.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.16% to 3.851.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for December 2024 settlement lost 8 cents or 0.10% to $77.54 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Friday, following losses on Wall Street, with concerns over Middle East tensions keeping investors on edge in the run up to September's U.S. payrolls 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.

Investors were also closely watching the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which could provide further insights into the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy.

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%.