Indian equity benchmarks witnessed bearish trend on Thursday with frontline gauges ending below their crucial 60,000 (Sensex) and 17,900 (Nifty) levels amid broad-based selling pressure as traders remain concerned over sustained foreign fund outflow. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 469.50 crore on November 10, 2021. Sentiments remained weak since morning with key gauges making a negative start as traders remained on sidelines looking forward to the last leg of quarterly numbers from India Inc for further cues. Traders shrugged off Finance Ministry's latest economic report stating that India's economic recovery has continued to trend upwards even as global economic recovery remains hamstrung. Markets extended losses on report that India's widening current account deficit (CAD), driven by the massive spike in commodity prices led by crude oil, is set to put pressure on the fragile recovery, warns a brokerage report that has revised upwards its CAD forecast to USD 45 billion or 1.4 percent of GDP by March. Traders also remained anxious after RBI's governor Shaktikanta Das said monetary policy normalisation or unwinding is not as simple as rolling back a carpet but a much more complex and long-term process. Shaktikanta Das exuded confidence in the economy clipping at the projected 9.5 per cent growth this fiscal, stating that growth impulses and the fast-moving economic indicators are strong. Traders overlooked a finance ministry report said that armed with necessary macro and micro growth drivers, India is on its way to becoming the fastest growing major economy in the world. Also, market participants overlooked report that India's GDP will rise by $406 billion by 2050 and more than 43 million jobs will be created, as the Asia's third-largest economy leaps towards a net-zero target. Finally, the BSE Sensex declined 433.13 points or 0.72% to 59,919.69 and the CNX Nifty was down by 143.60 points or 0.80% to 17,873.60.

The US markets ended mostly higher on Thursday as some traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels after the drop seen on Tuesday and Wednesday dragged the major averages down well off Monday's record closing highs. However, overall trading activity remained somewhat subdued, as some traders stuck to the sidelines amid the Veterans Day holiday. Lingering concerns about inflation also limited buying interest after Wednesday's Labor Department report showing consumer prices rose at their fastest annual rate in over thirty years in October. On the sectoral front, steel stocks showed a substantial move back to the upside on the day, with the NSYE Arca Steel Index surging up by 3.8 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in over seven months. Significant strength was also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The index ended the session at a nearly five-month closing high. Semiconductor, natural gas and computer hardware also regained ground after coming under pressure during trading on Wednesday.

Crude oil futures ended higher on Thursday as traders weighed global energy demand and supply prospects. A report from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that said the group's crude oil production rose by 217,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 27.453 million bpd in October, but still fell short of the cartel's share of the 400,000-bpd total output hike of the OPEC+ group, helped lift crude oil prices. However, the latest data showing an increase in US crude stockpiles in the week ended November 5th and a downward revision in global oil demand forecast by the OPEC weighed on oil prices. Oil prices were also hurt by concerns that rising US inflation could prompt Washington to release more strategic crude stock piles to drive down prices. Benchmark crude oil futures for December delivery gained $0.25 or 0.3 percent to settle at $81.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for January delivery rose $0.18 or 0.22 percent to settle at $82.82 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended weaker against the US dollar on Thursday, on increased demand for the greenback from importers and banks. Sentiments were downbeat as inflation in the US hit a 30-year high, raising concerns of an earlier-than-expected hike in interest rates in the world's largest economy. Also, continuous foreign fund outflows subdued traders' sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were stood as net sellers in the capital market, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 469.50 crore on Wednesday. They have sold equities worth Rs 5,515 crore so far this month. On the global front, dollar rose to 16-month highs against the euro and other currencies on Thursday, and the yen fell back towards multi-year lows, after the hottest U.S. inflation reading in a generation encouraged bets on interest rate hikes. Finally, the rupee ended 74.51, weaker by 17 paise from its previous close of 74.34 on Wednesday.

The FIIs as per Thursday's data were net sellers in equity segment, while net buyers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 6304.69 crore against gross selling of Rs 9247.08 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1399.96 crore with gross sales of Rs 173.00 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 9.40 crore against gross selling of Rs 6.98 crore.

The US markets ended mostly higher on Thursday as some traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels after the drop seen on Tuesday and Wednesday. Asian markets are trading in green on Friday following the mostly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders are bargain hunting after the recent losses. Indian markets suffered sharp losses on Thursday, falling for the third day in a row, amid weakness across global markets as investors worried over surging inflation. Today, the start of session is likely to be optimistic tracking gains in global peers. Investors will be eyeing the industrial and manufacturing production data along with inflation numbers for the further direction. Traders will be taking encouragement as Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said Indian economy is expected to grow by more than 10 per cent in the current fiscal supported by a record kharif crop and bright rabi prospects. According to Kumar, significant increase in exports will also boost economic growth and employment generation. Traders may take note of report that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India is looking at reciprocal and equitable access to foreign markets through free trade agreements, which the country is negotiating with its trading partners. India is, at present, negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) with countries like UAE, the UK, and Australia. However,  there may be some cautiousness as Fitch Solutions cautioned that policymaking could become slightly more challenging in the months ahead in India due to higher inflationary pressures, stronger growth, and still-wide fiscal deficits. It added Inflation, growth and fiscal deficit make life slightly more difficult for policymakers, resulting in possible policy trade-offs. Traders may be concerned with a private report that India's widening current account deficit (CAD), driven by the massive spike in commodity prices led by crude oil, is set to put pressure on the fragile recovery. Meanwhile, markets regulator Sebi has amended rules to introduce silver exchange traded funds, a move that will expand the options available for investing in commodities through stock exchanges. There will be some reaction in power stocks with ICRA's report that the power generation performance of the ICRA-monitored wind power portfolio of 3.2 gigawatt (GW) was adversely impacted during the financial year 2020-21 (FY21) primarily because of lower wind speeds.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• Kotak Mahindra Bank has completed the acquisition of a nearly 10 per cent stake in KFin Technologies for around Rs 310 crore. 
• Power Grid Corporation of India's board has approved investments proposals worth around Rs 552 crore.  
• NTPC has planned to start commercial operation of Unit-1 (660 MW) of Barh Super Thermal Power Station Stage-I (3x660 MW) with effect from November 12, 2021.  
• Maruti Suzuki India is gearing up to bolster its presence in the fast-growing SUV segment and has commenced development work on new models to expand its current range.