Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is up by 14.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market.
Asia-Pacific markets climbed across the board, as markets rally despite pressures from the attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped over 2%, leading gains in the region as the country comes back from a public holiday, with the Topix also gaining 1.9%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.1%, extending gains from Monday and moving above the 7,000 mark. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.64%, while the Kosdaq gained 0.71%. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 17,658, pointing to a positive open compared with the HSI’s close of 17,517.4. Hong Kong experienced a shortened trading day of just two hours Monday after the city canceled its morning session due to a typhoon warning.
US stock futures were near the flat line on Monday night as Wall Street assessed the impact and risks of a protracted conflict from the Israel-Hamas war. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded near the flatline. Futures linked to the S&P 500 ticked down 0.01%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.07%. Overnight in the US, all three major indexes reversed losses in the earlier part of the trading day to gain ground. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by 0.59%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.63%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.39%
Stocks News:
👉 Maruti Suzuki: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Monday said it is looking to invest as much as ₹1.25 trillion by 2030-31 to develop 10-11 new models, including six electric vehicles (EVs), and double its annual production to 4 million units. In a presentation, the country’s largest carmaker said it plans to dial up its presence in new vehicle segments, including hybrid, flex fuel and electric, particularly in the sport utility vehicle (SUV) format.
👉 Tata Steel: In the wake of alleviating risk from UK Operations, the Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of Tata Steel was upgraded to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’ by Fitch Ratings on Monday. The upgrade came after Tata Steel Limited’s standalone credit profile (SCP) was revised to ‘bb+’ from ‘bb’. The revision was made on account of the reduction in uncertainty and financial risk from its UK operations.
👉 IDFC First Bank: IDFC First Bank on October 9 informed the stock exchanges that it has entered into an agreement with the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) to sell one of its premises in Mumbai for ₹198 crore. The office space that would be sold to the securities depository is located in Naman Chambers, based in the business hub of Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC).
👉 Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders: The state-owned shipping company has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with an European client for the construction of six firms and four optional units of 7,500 DWT multi-purpose hybrid power vessels. The prices for the units would be firmed up at the time of contract signing.
👉 Foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded shares worth Rs 997.76 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased Rs 2,661.27 crore worth of stocks on October 9, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.
Domestic and International Events
- Unemployment rate in urban areas has decreased to 6.6% in April-June 2023 from 7.6% a year ago, according to data from the National Sample Survey Office. The high unemployment rate in the same period last year was due to Covid-related restrictions. Labour force participation rate increased to 48.8% from 47.5% in the same period last year.
- A recent Goldman Sachs report highlights the necessity of boosting private investment to drive India’s growth. With the government aiming to reduce the fiscal deficit and the possibility of rising subsidy expenses, public spending that recently boosted real investment may decline. To maintain India’s GDP growth, private investment must step up. The report offers encouraging news, stating that India Inc is well-positioned to increase spending. Companies have an opportunity to enhance investment growth by reshaping supply chains and potentially expanding beyond Chinese manufacturing locations over the next decade. Furthermore, analysts suggest that improved corporate balance sheets, well-capitalized banks, and faster regulatory approvals could help revive the corporate capital expenditure cycle.
- Oil prices jumped about 4% on Monday as the Israel-Hamas conflict extended into its third day following a surprise attack on Israel by Palestinian militants Hamas. Global benchmark Brent traded 3.9% higher at $87.85 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 4.1% to $86.19 per barrel.
- Gold prices scaled a one-week high on Monday after military conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas raised political unrest in the Middle East, bolstering the safe-haven appeal of the metal. Israel’s troops were battling on Monday to clear out Hamas gunmen more than two days after they burst across the fence from Gaza on a deadly rampage. Gold is considered a safe store of value amid political and economic turmoil. Spot gold was up 1.1% at $1,853.20 per ounce, its highest since September 29.
Key Equity Indices
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 17,517 | 0.2 % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,097 | (0.4) % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 33,605 | 0.6 % |
| DAX | 15,128 | (0.7) % |
| FTSE 100 | 7,492 | (0.0) % |
| Nikkei | 30,995 | (0.3) % |
| Straits Times | 3,167 | (0.3) % |
