In the week ended on Friday, 4 October 2024, the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 3.883.40 points or 4.54% to settle at 81,688.45. The Nifty 50 index declined 1,164.35 points or 4.45% to settle at 25,014.60. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 3.20% to close at 49,490.32. The BSE Small-Cap index declined 2.01% to end at 57,091.36.

Weekly Index Movement:

Domestic equity benchmarks experienced a sharp decline today, mirroring global trends, as tensions in the Middle East escalated. The S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 1,272.07 points or 1.49% to 84,299.78. The Nifty 50 index dropped 368.10 points or 1.41% to 25,810.85.

The domestic benchmark indices declined for the third consecutive session on Tuesday. The S&P BSE Sensex fell 33.49 points or 0.04% to 84,266.29. The Nifty 50 index shed 13.95 points or 0.05% to 25,769.90. The 50-unit index has corrected 1.70% in three straight sessions.

The domestic stock market was shut on Wednesday, 2 October 2024, in observance of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.

The domestic equity benchmarks suffered a significant downturn on Thursday, in the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex slumped 1,769.19 points or 2.10% to 82,497.10. The Nifty 50 index tumbled 546.80 points or 2.12% to 25,250.10.

The domestic equity indices ended with significant losses on Friday, amid fears that Israel is planning a significant retaliation following Iran's missile attacks, widening the scope of the Middle East war the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 808.65 points or 0.98% to 81,688.45. The Nifty 50 index dropped 235.50 points or 0.93% to 25,014.60.

SEBI's new F&O rules:

SEBI introduced a six-step plan to curtail retail participation in speculative index derivatives. This could result in a significant decline in trading volumes. New regulations require traders to maintain higher margins, potentially hindering their ability to take on larger leveraged positions.

Moreover, the reduction of weekly options expiries to one per exchange could lead to decreased revenues for exchanges and brokers. This change means that each exchange will only offer weekly contracts for one benchmark index instead of the current two to four. These measures are designed to reduce excessive speculation in the futures and options (F&O) segment, where retail investors often find themselves on the losing end of trades.

Economy:

India's fiscal deficit remained under control during April-August, reaching 27% of the full-year target. This containment was attributed to muted spending in the early months of the fiscal year. In comparison, the deficit stood at a higher 36% during the same period in FY24.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell from 57.5 in August to 56.5 in September, highlighting a robust improvement in the health of the sector that was nonetheless the weakest since January.

The HSBC India Services PMI survey, compiled by S&P Global, indicates strong sector performance, but total new business, international sales, and output have all increased at the slowest rates since late 2023.

Despite solid job creation and strengthening business confidence, the Services Business Activity Index fell from 60.9 in August to 57.7 in September, still indicating growth above the neutral mark of 50.0.

The slowdown in output growth, the lowest since November 2023, was influenced by intense competition, cost pressures, and shifts in consumer preferences toward online services. While new business intakes expanded sharply, their growth rate dropped to a ten-month low, and international sales growth weakened significantly, reflecting broader trends in private sector output.

September Auto Sales Impact:

Tata Motors declined 5.81%. The car major’s domestic and international vehicle sales declined 11.52% to 2,15,034 units in September 2024 as against 2,43,024 units sold in September 2023.

Bajaj Auto fell 7.12%. The company reported 19.60% jump in total auto sales to 4,69,531 units in September 2024 as against 3,92,558 units in September 2023.

Escorts Kubota declined 6.96%. The tractor manufacturer announced that its agri machinery business division sales grew by 2.47% to 12,380 units in September 2024 as against 12,081 units sold in September 2023.

Further, the company’s construction equipment business division sold 510 machines in September 2024, registering de-growth of 18.7% from 627 machines sold in September 2023.

Ashok Leyland added 5.63%. The company has reported total vehicle sales of 17,233 units for the month of September 2024, which is lower by 10% as compared with the sales of 19,202 units sold in September 2023.

Steel Strips Wheels added 0.90%. The company said that it has achieved monthly net turnover of Rs 362.12 crore, which is lower by 9.89% as compared with the figure of Rs 401.88 crore recorded in September 2023.

TVS Motor Company fell 8.78%. The company said that it has recorded monthly sales of 482,495 units in September 2024 with a growth of 20% as against 402,553 units in the month of September 2023.

Maruti Suzuki India slipped 6.65%. The company has recorded total sales increased 1.87% to 1,84,727 units in September 2024 as against 1,81,343 units sold in September 2023. Total sales in the month include domestic sales of 148,061 units, sales to other OEM of 8,938 units and exports of 27,728 units.

Hero MotoCorp tumbled 7.39%. The two-wheeler major’s total motorcycle and scooter sales jumped 18.74% to 637,050 units in September 2024 as compared with sales of 536,499 units recorded in September 2023.

Stocks to watch:

Angel One rallied 5.12%. The company introduced transaction charges on delivery-based equity trades with effect from November 1st this year.

Meanwhile, the company said that its client base jumped 61% to 27.49 million in September 2024 as compared with 17.07 million in September 2023.

NMDC rose 0.62%. The state-owned miner's iron ore production increased by 1.33% to 3.04 million tonnes (MT) in September 2024 as against 3 MT produced in September 2023.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) declined 2.96%. The company said that it has handled a total cargo volume of 37.5 million metric tonnes (MMT) in September 2024, which is higher by 14% on YoY basis.

Dabur India dropped 9.49%. The company posted a disappointing Q2 biz update. Co. says its revenue will fall in mid-single digit, its profitability will be “impacted” and it expects operating margins to decline in the “mid to high teens”.

HDFC Bank slipped 5.48%. The company stated that the bank’s advances under management were Rs 26,33,500 crore as of 30 September 2024, a growth of around 8% over Rs 24,37,400 crore as of 30 September 2023.

Avenue Supermarts (DMart) dropped 7.48%. The company announced that the total number of DMart stores as of 30 September2024 stood at 377. The company has reported standalone revenue of Rs 14,050.32 crore in Quarter ended 30 September2024, recording a growth of 14.16% from Rs 12,307.72 crore posted in the same period a year ago.

Vedanta shed 0.77%. The diversified minerals company informed that its total aluminum production rose 3% to 6,09,000 tonnes in Q2 FY25 as compared with 5,94,000 tonnes posted in Q2 FY24.

Global market:

The British economy grew slightly below expectations, expanding by 0.5% in the second quarter compared to the initial estimate of 0.6%.

In Germany, the inflation rate in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state, fell to 1.5% year-on-year in September from 1.7% in August. Additionally, market participants were focused on European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde's speech on monetary policy at the European Parliament.

China's central bank announced plans to reduce mortgage rates for existing home loans by the end of October, likely by an average of 50 basis points.

China's Caixin Manufacturing PMI declined from 50.4 in August to 49.3 in September, indicating a return to contraction. The manufacturing sector deteriorated in September after improving the previous month.

The US Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, showed that annual inflation decreased to 2.2% in August from 2.5% the month before.

Japan reported its unemployment rate for August eased to 2.5%, down from 2.7% in July.

The ADP National Employment Report indicated that US private payrolls grew more than expected in September, adding 143,000 jobs. The US job market's resilience was further underscored by the unexpected increase in job openings in August. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) revealed a rebound of 329,000 job openings, exceeding analysts' expectations. While hiring declined slightly, layoffs decreased.