Stock Market LIVE Updates: Sensex, Nifty likely to open higher, signals GIFT Nifty; Blue Dart eyed

Stock Market LIVE Updates, Tuesday, October 1, 2024: GIFT Nifty futures, trading marginally ahead at 26,014 at 7:35 AM, indicated that markets in India were likely to start with gains.

On Monday, Indian benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 ended in negative territory with a fall of more than 1 per cent each, led by massive profit booking across counters.

The BSE Sensex closed down 1,272.07 points, or 1.49 per cent, at 84,299.78, while the Nifty 50 ended 368.10 points, or 1.41 per cent, down at 25,810.85.

The broader markets also closed in the red, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 declining 0.38 per cent and 0.32 per cent, respectively.

The fear index, India VIX, surged 6.89 per cent to close at 12.79.

Auto stocks were the worst hit across sectors, with the Nifty Auto index declining 2 per cent. Bank Nifty, Financial Services, PSU Bank, Private Bank, and Realty indices also fell over 1 per cent each.

Notably, Media and Metal indices defied the trend, ending in the green with gains of 1.33 per cent and 1.12 per cent, respectively.

Apart from that, markets in India will see the implementation of new transaction charges by the NSE and BSE beginning from today, October 1, in response to a Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) directive aimed at eliminating the slab-wise charge structure for market infrastructure institutions (MIIs). 

For equity options, the NSE will charge Rs 3,503 per crore of premium value for each side of a transaction, while the BSE will adjust its charges for Sensex and Bankex options contracts to Rs 3,250 per crore of premium turnover.

In addition to these transaction changes, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced an increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) for futures and options trading, effective from the same day. The STT for futures trading will rise to 0.02 per cent, up from 0.0125 per cent earlier, while options trading will see an increase to 0.1 per cent. 

Meanwhile, markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Tuesday following Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s comments that future rate cuts would not be as aggresive as the last one. 

Many Asian markets, including South Korea, Hong Kong, and mainland China, are closed for a public holiday today, while China markets will remain closed for the rest of the week due to Golden Week celebrations.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rebounded sharply, gaining 1.73 per cent after a 4.8 per cent decline on Monday, while the Topix rose 1.43 per cent. 

In contrast, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.47 per cent, pulling back from an all-time high.

In Japan, traders were focused on the Bank of Japan’s third-quarter Tankan survey, which assesses business optimism among large companies. 

Sentiment among large manufacturers remained steady at +13, aligning with forecasts, while non-manufacturers saw a slight increase to +34 from +33, surpassing expectations of +32. A positive reading indicates that optimists outnumber pessimists.

Additionally, Japan reported a drop in its unemployment rate for August to 2.5 per cent, down from 2.7 per cent in July and better than the anticipated 2.6 per cent.

That apart, MSCI’s global equities index fell on Monday and the dollar rose as the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell dampened hopes for another big rate cut, while oil futures ended flat after a choppy session on concerns about an escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Global benchmark Brent crude, however, posted its biggest monthly loss since November 2022 and its biggest quarterly drop in a year, slumping 17 per cent in the third quarter, as waning global demand concerns overshadowed fears of the conflict curtailing supply.

Stock trading was choppy after Powell suggested that the central bank was not in a hurry to cut rates. While some investors had been betting on more substantial easing, Powell signalled that the Fed would make two 25 basis point cuts this year if the economy evolves as expected.

Wall Street indexes had rallied last week with help from a benign reading on core US inflation on Friday that had boosted bets for another half-point rate from the Fed.

But on Monday traders saw a 36.7 per cent probability of a 50 basis point cut in November, down from 53.3 per cent on Friday, according the latest reading on CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

While stocks fell during Powell’s speech, they regained lost ground with the S&P 500 and the Dow registering record closing highs on the last day of the quarter when many traders make last minute adjustments to their portfolios.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.04 per cent, to 42,330.15, the S&P 500 rose 0.42 per cent, to 5,762.48 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.38 per cent, to 18,189.17.

For the month, the S&P 500 gained 2.01 per cent and for the quarter it rose 5.53 per cent.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.21 per cent, to 851.02 for the day. For the month the global index was showing an increase of around 2 per cent and for the quarter it was registering a gain of around 6 per cent.

In Beijing’s trading day, equities had rallied sharply after China’s latest round of stimulus.

China government stimulus measures announced last week continued to boost stock markets, with the blue-chip CSI300 closing up 8.5 per cent.

The dollar rose after Powell’s more hawkish tone lead traders to pare bets for a big rate cut in November.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.32 per cent to 100.76.

In Treasuries, the yield on benchmark US 10-year notes rose 3.6 basis points to 3.785 per cent, from 3.749 per cent late on Friday.

The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, rose 7.4 basis points to 3.637 per cent, from 3.563 per cent late on Friday.

In energy markets, US crude settled down 1 cent at $68.17 a barrel, but tumbled 7 per cent in September in its biggest monthly decline since October 2023.

Brent edged down 21 cents to $71.77 per barrel. 

Gold eased, taking a breather after a historic rally driven by US monetary easing and heightened Middle East tensions.

Spot gold fell 1 per cent to $2,631.39 an ounce. US gold futures fell 0.54 per cent to $2,629.90 an ounce.

(With inputs from Retuers.)