Market sell-off intensifies; European mrkt opens lower

The key equity benchmarks traded with deep cuts in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 23,700 level. All the sectoral indices on the NSE were traded in red, with realty, media and metal shares declining the most.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 643.82 points or 0.82% to 78,033.34. The Nifty 50 index slipped 224.75 points or 0.94% to 23,658.70.

The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index dropped 2.01% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index tumbled2.46%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 705 shares rose and 3,158 shares fell. A total of 113 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's retail inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), in October 2024 surged to a 14-month high of 6.21%, according to the latest official data released on Tuesday. India's retail inflation had stood at a nine-month high of 5.49% in September 2024. It was at 4.87% in October 2023.

India's industrial production grew by 3.1% in September, according to official data released on Tuesday. In the previous month of August, the factory output, based on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), was in the negative territory at (-) 0.1%. However, the IIP growth had stood at 6.4% in September 2023.

Gainers & Losers:

NTPC (up 1.20%), Britannia Industries (up 0.45%) and Tata Motors (up 0.25%), were major Nifty gainers.

Hindalco Industries (down 3.93%), Eicher Motors (down 3.91%), Hero Motorcorp (down 3.55%), Tata Steel (down 3.49%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (down 3.36%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

FSN E-Commerce Ventures (NYkaa) declined 3.18%. The company's consolidate net profit jumped 66.28% to Rs 12.97 crore on 24.4% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 1,874.74 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q2 FY24.

Sula Vineyards slipped 5.68% after the company's consolidated net profit fell 37.28% to Rs 14.48 crore in Q2 FY25 as against Rs 23.09 crore posted in Q2 FY24. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) decreased marginally to Rs 132.36 crore in the second quarter of FY25 as compared to Rs 133.69 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Droneacharya Aerial Innovations tumbled 16.37%. The company said that it has secured a master contract worth $1.75 million (Rs 14.80 crore) for specialized drone consultancy services from American Blast Systems (ABS), California, USA.

Suven Pharmaceuticals Industries (SPL) fell 1.19%. The drug maker's consolidated net profit increased 3.34% to Rs 82.21 crore on 11.54% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 257.72 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q2 FY24.

Nazara Technologies rose 1.05% after the company announced its integration with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to launch gCommerce.

Global Markets:

Most of the European stocks declined as investors looking ahead for October's inflation data of the U.S., a key factor when it comes to the Federal Reserve's decision to cut or maintain interest rates.

Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday as investors are growing cautious ahead of crucial U.S. inflation data.

Asian traders assessed corporate goods data out of Japan, which showed year-on-year producer price growth, or wholesale inflation, in October reached its highest since July last year at 3.4%.

China's recent fiscal measures failed to significantly boost regional markets, while uncertainty surrounding global trade relations continues to dampen sentiment.

Wall Street benchmarks retreated from record highs on Tuesday after a strong post-election run. At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.86%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.29%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.09%.

Key Federal Reserve officials' hawkish comments, particularly Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari's warning about potential rate hikes, added to the negative sentiment.

Investors are now focused on the upcoming U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data due later on Wednesday, which is expected to reveal persistent inflation in October.