Indian equity benchmarks opened on a mixed note Wednesday amid persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) selling and rising US Treasury yields, with the Sensex starting at 79,921.13 and Nifty at 24,378.15.

Bajaj Finance led the early gains, surging 2.85 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Auto at 1.51 per cent and 1.45 per cent respectively. However, Shriram Finance emerged as the top loser, declining 2.17 per cent, while Power Grid and NTPC fell over 1.5 per cent each.

“The market is expected to remain volatile due to ongoing FII selling exceeding ₹86,000 crore this month, making it the highest withdrawal in four years,” said Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities.

The International Monetary Fund maintained India’s growth forecast at 7 per cent for FY25 and 6.5 per cent for FY26, citing exhaustion of post-pandemic demand. “India’s GDP growth is likely to moderate from 8.2 per cent in 2023 to 7 per cent in 2024,” noted Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

Rising US bond yields, touching 4.2 per cent, continue to pressure markets. “U.S. stocks struggled after downbeat news from key American companies, with traders also considering prospects for slower Fed rate cuts,” Jasani added.

Technical analysts suggest caution. “The market has become oversold, though a bounce is overdue which could reach the 24,756-24,832 band,” said Shrikant Chouhan of Kotak Securities.

In commodities, gold hit a fresh record at $2,742.08 an ounce, while silver crossed the ₹100,000 mark on MCX for the first time. “Uncertainty surrounding U.S. Presidential elections and BRICS nations’ push towards de-dollarization is driving precious metals demand,” explained Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities.

Crude oil traded lower with Brent futures at $71.62, down 0.17 per cent, as U.S. inventory data showed an increase for the week ending October 18.

Key earnings scheduled for today include Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, and SBI Life Insurance, which could influence market direction.

Published on October 23, 2024