Indian equity benchmarks ended on a negative note for the second straight session on Wednesday due to weakness in Metal, Power and Basic Materials stocks. After making a cautious start, key indices fell into red and traded with a negative bias throughout the day, amid unabated foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 696.02 crore on October 31, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed. Traders were cautious as the output of eight key infrastructure industries - known as the core sector - slowed to a four-month low of 8.1 per cent in September, on the back of a high base and a slowdown in seven constituent sectors. Markets extended losses in the second half and closed near the day's lows, as cautiousness prevailed in the markets with a private survey showing that India's manufacturing growth slowed for a second straight month in October as demand eased, which alongside bigger increases in the cost of raw materials had an impact on business confidence. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, dropped to an eight-month low of 55.5 in October from 57.5 in September. Traders overlooked data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) showing that the Centre's tax collections continued to exhibit buoyancy with gross-tax revenue (GTR), net of refunds, recording a sharp 16.3% year-on-year growth in the first half of FY24. This compares with 10% growth budgeted for the whole fiscal year. Meanwhile, data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) has showed that the central government's fiscal deficit touched 39.3 per cent of the full year target in the first half of the current financial year, slightly higher than 37.3 per cent recorded in the year-ago period. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 283.60 points or 0.44% to 63,591.33 and the CNX Nifty was down by 90.45 points or 0.47% to 18,989.15.

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday amid a positive reaction to the Federal Reserve's widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged. The Fed said it decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25 to 5.50 percent, marking the third time in four meetings that the central bank has refrained from raising rates. The accompanying statement suggested the Fed is still considering additional rate hikes in an effort to return inflation to its 2 percent objective, but traders seem optimistic the recent cycle of increase is over. The early strength on markets came as the release of some weaker than expected U.S. economic data eased concerns about the outlook for interest rates. Payroll processor ADP released a report before the start of trading showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of October. The report said private sector employment climbed by 113,000 jobs in October after rising by 89,000 jobs in September. Street had expected employment to jump by 150,000 jobs. On the sectoral front, Housing stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, resulting in a 3.5 percent spike by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Substantial strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 2.3 percent. The index climbed further off the five-month closing low set on Monday. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) led the way higher after reporting better than expected third quarter earnings and providing upbeat guidance for its AI chip business.

Crude oil futures ended lower on Wednesday after data from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventory in the U.S. rose by 0.774 million barrels in the week ended October 27.  The EIA data also showed gasoline stockpiles increased by 0.1 million barrels last week, as against forecasts for a drop of about 0.8 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell by 0.8 million barrels in the week, against expectations for a 1.5 million-barrel drop. Besides, oil prices fell amid concerns that higher borrowing costs will likely hurt growth and the outlook for fuel demand. The Federal Reserve decided to leave interest rates unchanged at 5.25 to 5.5%, in an effort to support its dual goals of maximum employment and inflation at a rate of 2% over the longer run. Benchmark crude oil futures for December delivery fell $0.58 or 0.7 percent to settle at $80.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for January delivery lost $0.19 or 0.22 percent to settle at $84.83 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended lower against dollar on Wednesday tracking a strong greenback against major rivals overseas and unabated foreign capital outflows. Traders were worried as India's manufacturing growth softened for the second straight month as demand eased, which alongside bigger increases in the cost of raw materials had an impact on business confidence. S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index showed factory activity dropped to an eight-month low of 55.5 in October from 57.5 in September. On the global front, Rouble reversed early losses to strengthen on Wednesday, heading back towards the three-month high hit in the previous session, supported by the Bank of Russia's tight monetary policy and exporters' forced sale of foreign currency revenues. Finally, the rupee ended at 83.32 (Provisional), weaker by 8 paise from its previous close of 83.24 on Tuesday.

The FIIs as per Wednesday's data were net sellers in equity segment, while they were net buyers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 11146.68 crore against gross selling of Rs 11579.73 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1389.73 crore with gross sales of Rs 590.83 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 8.31 crore against gross selling of Rs 10.06 crore.

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday after the US Fed left rates unchanged for the second straight time. Asian markets are trading in green on Thursday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. Indian markets ended on a negative note for the second straight session on Wednesday weighed by weak manufacturing data for the month of October. Today, markets are likely to get gap-up opening following the rally in global markets after the US Fed Reserve's signalled likely pause on future rate hikes. Sentiments will get a boost as India's goods and services tax (GST) collections in October grew 13 per cent over a year earlier to Rs 1.72 trillion, mainly on account of stricter anti-evasion measures and higher festival-season consumer spending. This was the second-highest monthly figure ever, next only to the Rs 1.87 trillion collected in April this year. Traders will be taking encouragement as data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed India's services trade surplus bounced back in the September quarter of 2023-24 (FY24), growing 26.6 per cent after falling to a three-quarter low in June. Some support will also come with a private report that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation wave is likely to create a need to reskill and upskill 16.2 million workers in India in the next five years. According to report, the rise of emerging technologies such as AI may create around 4.7 million new technology jobs in India. Meanwhile, India and Sri Lanka have relaunched the negotiations for the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ECTA) after a five-year hiatus. Besides, regulator Irdai has set up a high-level panel to suggest steps to increase the participation of banks for easy availability of insurance products across the country. Auto stocks will be in focus with report that domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales reached a new peak for a third consecutive month in October, helped by strong festival-season demand and momentum in the economy. There will be some reaction in power sector stocks as the country's power consumption grew nearly 22 per cent to 138.94 billion units (BU) in October, showing a surge in electricity demand due to festivities and increased economic activities. On the earnings front, Dabur, Godrej Properties, IRFC, Karnataka Bank, Suzlon and Tata Motors are scheduled to report September quarter earnings today. In the primary market, Mamaearth IPO will close today.

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

• ITC has acquired 2,286 Equity Shares of Rs 10 each of Delectable Technologies (Delectable). 
• Larsen & Toubro has reported 36.76% rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 3855.55 crore for Q2FY24 as compared to Rs 2819.20 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. 
• Mahindra & Mahindra has reported a 32% rise in its overall auto sales at 80,679 units for the month of October 2023, including exports. 
• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone's wholly owned subsidiary -- Adani Logistics has subscribed 50,000 equity shares (50% stake) of Veracity Supply Chain.