Indices trade sideways; PSU bank shares slide

The key equity indices traded sideways in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,000 level. PSU bank shares declined after advancing in the past trading session.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex added 40.97 points or 0.05% to 81,729.42. The Nifty 50 index lost 24.70 points or 0.10% to 24,989.90.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.05% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 2.32%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 630 shares rose and 3,261 shares fell. A total of 126 shares were unchanged.

Economy :

According to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, India's forex reserves were at $704.89 billion, having risen by $12.6 billion in the week through Sept. 27 in their biggest weekly increase since mid-July 2023.

According to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI, Foreign currency assets (FCAs) were up by $10.4 billion to $616 billion.

Gold reserves reported a surge of $2 billion to $65.7 billion. Meanwhile, SDRs for the week rose marginally by $8 million to stand at $18.547 billion. Reserve position in the IMF dipped by $71 million to $4.3 billion.

Buzzing Index :

The Nifty PSU Bank index slipped 2.22% to 6,565.80. The index gained 0.54% in the past trading session.

Union Bank of India (down 4.87%), Punjab & Sind Bank (down 4.8%), Central Bank of India (down 4.73%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 4.67%), UCO Bank (down 4.52%), Bank of India (down 4.17%), Punjab National Bank (down 3.5%), Canara Bank (down 3.32%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 3.14%) and Bank of Baroda (down 3.05%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight :

Info Edge (India) declined 2.01%. The company announced that its standalone billings increased by 14.29% to Rs 650.3 crore in Q2 FY25 compared with Rs 569 crore in Q2 FY24.

Federal Bank slipped 2.97%. The company reported 15.6% growth in total deposits to Rs 2,69,105 crore as of September 2024 as compared with Rs 2,32,868 crore as of September 2023.

Antony Waste Handling Cell rallied 3.83% after its wholly owned subsidiary, AG Enviro Infra Projects has secured a contract for door-to-door C&T of MSW in Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC).

Global Markets:

Asian stocks climbed on Monday after strong U.S. job growth data, which eased recession concerns and reduced expectations for interest rate cuts.

Short-term U.S. Treasury yields rose after the non-farm payrolls report showed more jobs added than expected in September. Crude oil prices declined slightly despite ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

U.S. stocks rallied on Friday after the positive job report boosted investor confidence in the economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.22%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.81%, to notch an all-time closing high of 42,352.75. Technology stocks like Tesla, Amazon, and Netflix led the gains, while financial stocks also performed well.

Data showed nonfarm payrolls grew by 254,000 jobs in September, far outpacing the forecasted gain of 150,000. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% despite expectations for it to hold steady at 4.2%.