Market near day's low; metal shares rally for 7th day

The key equity indices continued to trade with major losses in mid-morning trade as Middle East tensions escalate amid Israel-Lebanon conflict. The Nifty traded below the 26,000 level. Metal shares extended gains for the seventh consecutive trading sessions.

Investors are watching a busy week of US economic data, ending with the November jobs report. This report could greatly affect the Fed's decision on interest rate cuts.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 949.08 points or 1.11% to 84,626.89. The Nifty 50 index declined 279.55 points or 1.07% to 25,899.40.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.43% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.19%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,547 shares rose and 2,307 shares fell. A total of 169 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 7.04% to 12.81.

Economy:

India's foreign exchange reserves climbed for the sixth consecutive week to a record high of $692.3 billion as of September 20, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday (September 27).

The reserves increased by $2.84 billion during the week, following a total rise of $19.3 billion over the previous five weeks.

Foreign currency assets, the largest component of the reserves, rose to $605.7 billion from $603.6 billion in the previous week.

Gold reserves increased, climbing to $63.6 billion from $62.9 billion. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) stood at $18.5 billion, up from $18.4 billion.

Meanwhile the reserve tranche position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell slightly to $4.46 billion from $4.52 billion.

IPO Update :

The initial public offer (IPO) of Diffusion Engineers received bids for 26,80,48,968 shares as against 65,98,500 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:15 IST on Monday (30 September 2024). The issue was subscribed 40.62 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Thursday (26 September 2024) and it will close on Monday (30 September 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 159 to Rs 168 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 88 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index :

The Nifty Metal index added 1.94% to 10,259.75. The index zoomed 10.90% in the seven trading sessions.

NMDC (up 4%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 2.32%), JSW Steel (up 2.31%), National Aluminium Company (up 2.2%), Adani Enterprises (up 2.03%), Hindustan Copper (up 2%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.92%), Welspun Corp (up 1.66%), Tata Steel (up 1.53%) and Steel Authority of India (up 1.24%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight :

Asian Energy Services fell 0.14%. The company announced that it has been awarded an order from Oil India for 2D Seismic Data Acquisition of 4,300 line kilometres (LKM) in Rajasthan Basin. This project is part of the Mission Anveshan initiative and is valued at approximately Rs 82 crore.

Max Estates added 1.46% after the company said that its first residential development in Gurugram has garnered pre-sales booking value of Rs 4,100 crore, surpassing the guidance of Rs 4,000 crore provided by the company for FY25. The project has garnered a pre-sales booking value of approximately Rs 4,100 crore surpassing the guidance of nearly Rs 4,000 crore provided by the company for FY25.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded lower on Monday as Middle East tensions offset China's stimulus measures. The Nikkei tumbled on concerns about Japan's new prime minister favoring higher interest rates.

The Shanghai Composite surged over 4%, extending last week's 13% rally. China's central bank announced plans to reduce mortgage rates for existing home loans by the end of October, likely by an average of 50 basis points. This move is part of Beijing's largest stimulus package since the pandemic, which includes a range of monetary, fiscal, and liquidity support measures.

Despite the stimulus, China's Caixin Manufacturing PMI declined from 50.4 in August to 49.3 in September, indicating a return to contraction. The manufacturing sector deteriorated in September after improving the previous month.

Meanwhile, ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon increased geopolitical uncertainty.

In the United States, the Dow closed at a record high on Friday, shrugging off tech sector volatility. Surging energy stocks and signs of cooling inflation boosted investor sentiment.

The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%, reaching a new closing record of 42,313. The benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 0.4%.

The US Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, showed that annual inflation decreased to 2.2% in August from 2.5% the month before. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver a closely watched speech on Monday.