Indices trim some losses; auto shares slides for 3rd day

The domestic equity benchmarks pared some losses and traded with modest losses in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 25,150 mark. Auto stocks extend losses for the third consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 327.04 points or 0.40% to 82,277.60. The Nifty 50 index declined 117.15 points or 0.49% to 25,156.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.07% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.48%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,795 shares rose and 2,124 shares fell. A total of 103 shares were unchanged.

Economy :

Indian service providers signaled that the strong start to the second fiscal quarter continued into August, with business activity expanding to the greatest extent since March as growth of incoming new business ticked higher. Moreover, payroll numbers rose solidly as companies remained upbeat regarding the economic outlook.

Another positive development included a slowdown in output charge inflation, which was helped by cost pressures retreating to their lowest in four years.

At 60.9 in August, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Business Activity Index was inside expansion territory for the thirty-seventh straight month. Moreover, rising from 60.3 in July, the headline figure indicated the strongest rate of expansion since March and one that was well above its long-run average.

According to panel members, growth was underpinned by productivity gains and positive demand trends. The current run of new order growth was also stretched to 37 months in August. The rate of increase quickened marginally from July and was the strongest since April, as more than one-quarter of panelists reported an improvement and only 5% indicated deterioration.

August data showed another substantial increase in Indian private sector output. At 60.7, the HSBC India Composite Output Index matched July's reading and therefore remained comfortably above its long-run average of 54.6.

Service providers signaled the strongest increase in business activity since March, while goods producers posted the weakest rise in production for seven months.

A similar trend was seen for new orders, with the service sector posting a quicker increase as manufacturing saw a slowdown. At the composite level, sales rose substantially during August, though at the weakest pace since May.

Trends for input prices were consistent at manufacturing companies and their services counterparts, as both saw cost pressures receded in August. The aggregate rate of inflation retreated to a six-month low.

August survey data showed that prices charged for Indian goods and services rose to a lesser extent than in July. Manufacturers continued to note the quicker increase.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index fell 0.79% to 25,829.45. The index declined 1.31% in the three consecutive trading sessions.

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.73%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.09%), Exide Industries (down 1.07%), Bosch (down 1%) and Tata Motors (down 0.9%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.84%), TVS Motor Company (down 0.52%), Eicher Motors (down 0.5%), Samvardhana Motherson International (down 0.37%) and Ashok Leyland (down 0.24%) declined.

On the other hand, Balkrishna Industries (up 0.92%) ,Apollo Tyres (up 0.86%) and MRF (up 0.58%) edged higher.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal advanced 1.56% to 6.977 as compared with previous close 6.984.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.9700, compared with its close of 83.9800 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 October 2024 settlement shed 0.47% to Rs 71,042.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.15% to 101.67.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.63% to 3.817.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2024 settlement lost 20 cents or 0.27% to $73.55 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Havells India shed 0.16%. The company said that it has started commercial production of cable at the company's new facility at Vasanthnarasapura Industrial Area, Tumakuru in the state of Karnataka.

Minda Corporation rose 0.29%. The company said that it has signed a technology licensing agreement with China-based Sanco Connecting Technology, a leader in electric vehicle (EV) connection systems.

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) fell 0.68%. The company informed that it has achieved electricity volume (including certificates) of 12,040 million units (MU) in August 2024, registering a growth of 35.8 % YoY basis.