Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is down by 21.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market.
Asian markets traded lower Wednesday following overnight mixed sentiment from Wall Street and as investors look to key economic data from China. China will release its third-quarter gross domestic product data and according to a Reuters poll, economists expect the country’s economy to report growth of 4.4%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a shade lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 eased 0.1% and the Topix was up marginally. South Korea’s Kospi fell marginally and the Kosdaq dropped 0.15%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 17,782, compared with the HSI’s last close of 17,773.34. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.08%.
The Nasdaq dipped and the benchmark US Treasury yields surged on Tuesday as robust economic data and strong third-quarter earnings suggested the Federal Reserve may keep policy tight for longer than expected. All three major US stock indices wavered throughout the session but the S&P 500 and the Dow closed essentially flat, while interest rate-sensitive megacap stocks weighed on the Nasdaq, which posted a modest loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.04%, the S&P 500 lost 0.01% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.25%.
Stocks News:
👉 L&T Technology Services: The engineering services company has recorded a 1.4% sequential growth in net profit at Rs 315.4 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, with the operating numbers beating analyst estimates. Revenue for the quarter increased by 3.7% QoQ to Rs 2,386.5 crore, with the dollar revenue rising 2.9% to $288.1 million and constant currency topline growth at 3.2% in the same period. The firm revised its USD revenue growth guidance for FY24 to 17.5–18.5% in constant currency while declaring an interim dividend of Rs 17 per share.
👉 Tata Elxsi: The design-led technology services company has clocked 5.9% sequential growth in net profit at Rs 200 crore for the July-September period FY24, with revenue increasing 3.7% to Rs 881.7 crore during the same period. Transportation segment growth stood at 7.1% QoQ, aided by large deals and strong traction in software-defined vehicle (SDV) engagements, while healthcare division growth grew at 3.6% QoQ, driven by new product engineering, digital health, and regulatory services. The media and communications segment grew marginally at 0.1% QoQ.
👉 Bajaj Finance: The non-banking finance company has registered a massive 28% on-year increase in profit after tax at Rs 3,551 crore for the quarter ended September FY24. Net interest income during the same period increased 26% to Rs 8,845 crore, with the number of new loans booked rising by 26% to 8.53 million, while assets under management (AUM) grew by 33% to Rs 2.9 lakh crore as of September 2023.
👉 IDFC/IDFC First Bank: The Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) has received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for its merger with IDFC First Bank, a regulatory filing stated on October 17. The merger between the development finance institution and the private lender received approval from the board of directors of IDFC and IDFC First Bank on July 3.
👉 Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 263.68 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased Rs 112.55 crore worth of stocks on October 17, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.
Domestic and International Events
- The government on October 17 cut special additional excise duty (SAED) on crude petroleum to Rs 9,050/tonne with effect from October 18. In the last fortnightly review on September 29, windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil was set at Rs 12,200/tonne. Besides, the SAED or duty on export of diesel will be reduced to Rs 4/litre, from Rs 5 per litre currently. The duty on jet fuel or ATF will be reduced to Rs 1/litre from Rs 2.5/litre currently.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its 2023 and 2024 growth forecasts for China, saying its recovery was “losing steam” and citing weakness in its property sector. The world’s second-largest economy is expected to expand by 5% this year and 4.2% next year, down from 5.2% and 4.5% in the IMF’s April forecast, the institution said in a regional economic outlook report released on Wednesday.
- Indian wheat prices have reached an eight-month high due to strong demand for festivals, limited supplies, and import duties making overseas buying unfeasible for domestic flour mills. The government may release more stocks and eliminate import duties to control prices. Rising wheat prices could contribute to food inflation.
- Oil prices gained nearly $2 in early trade on Wednesday after industry data showed a bigger-than-expected draw in US crude stocks amid worries about supply disruptions from the Middle East due to a deepening Israel-Hamas conflict. Brent crude futures jumped $1.62, or 1.8%, to $91.49 a barrel at 0148, with markets also braced for Chinese GDP numbers. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures were up $1.77, or 2%, at $88.43 a barrel.
Key Equity Indices
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 17,773 | 0.8 % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,084 | 0.3 % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 33,998 | 0.0 % |
| DAX | 15,252 | 0.1 % |
| FTSE 100 | 7,675 | 0.6 % |
| Nikkei | 32,040 | 1.2 % |
| Straits Times | 3,172 | 0.3 % |
