Falling for the fifth day running, Indian equity benchmarks ended with losses of around a percent on Wednesday as the uncertainties associated with the Israel-Hamas conflict continue to weigh on markets. Key gauges opened mildly in the green as traders took support with the provisional data available on the NSE showing that foreign institutional investors (FII) added shares worth net Rs 252.25 crore on October 23, 2023. Some support also came with a finance ministry report stating that India will remain the fastest-growing major economy in the world in 2023-24 fiscal on the back of strong domestic fundamentals and benign inflation expectations. The report emphasised that India's macroeconomic outlook for fiscal 2023-24 is bright and is solidly underpinned by strong domestic fundamentals. However, markets unable to sustain gains and entered into red terrain in late morning deals as traders turned anxious after a study by rating agency Crisil found that higher growth in vegetable demand relative to supply in the recent past has led to an upward trend in inflation, with spikes becoming more frequent. It said vegetable inflation has been the most volatile in the food category, in fact. Markets continued to drift lower in late afternoon deals. Traders overlooked S&P Global Market Intelligence's latest issue of PMI stating that India, the world's fifth largest economy in the world, is likely to overtake Japan to become the world's third-largest economy with a GDP of $7.3 trillion by 2030. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 522.82 points or 0.81% to 64,049.06 and the CNX Nifty was down by 159.60 points or 0.83% to 19,122.15.

The US markets ended lower on Wednesday with Nasdaq settling cut of over 300 points. A renewed increase by treasury yields weighed on the markets, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note spiking after ending the previous session little changed. The surge by yields came as traders looked ahead to the release of key economic data in the coming days, including a preliminary reading on third quarter GDP due to be released on Thursday. Street expect the pace of GDP to show a significant acceleration to 4.2 percent in the third quarter from 2.1 percent in the second quarter. Besides, the particularly steep drop by the Nasdaq reflected a negative reaction to quarterly results from Alphabet (GOOGL), with the Google parent plummeted by 9.5 percent. Shares of Google came under pressure after the company reported third quarter earnings that exceeded estimates but weaker than expected revenue from its cloud business. On the sectoral front, Semiconductor stocks saw substantial weakness on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 4.1 percent to a five-month closing low. Chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN) posted a steep loss after reporting mixed third quarter results and providing disappointing fourth quarter guidance. Considerable weakness was also visible among transportation stocks, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average tumbling by 2.4 percent. The average also fell to its lower closing level in almost five months. Retail stocks also showed a significant move to the downside, resulting in a 2.4 percent slump by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index. Biotechnology, commercial real estate and networking stocks also showed notable moves to the downside amid broad based weakness on Wall Street.

Crude oil futures ended sharply higher on Wednesday amid likely disruptions in supply due to the tensions in the Middle East. However, Weak economic data from the euro area, and data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended October 20, limited oil's upside. Data from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventory increased by 1.372 million barrel last week, as against forecast for a drop of 0.45 million barrels. Meanwhile, gasoline inventory rose by 0.156 million barrels last week, as against forecast for a decline of 1.266 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped by 1.686 million barrels, slightly lower than an expected drop of 1.75 million barrels. Benchmark crude oil futures for December delivery rose $1.65 or 1.97 percent to settle at $85.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for December delivery surged $2.06 or 2.34 percent to settle at $90.13 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended lower against dollar on Wednesday tracking negative cues from domestic equity markets and a stronger American currency overseas. Traders were worried as a study by rating agency Crisil found that higher growth in vegetable demand relative to supply in the recent past has led to an upward trend in inflation, with spikes becoming more frequent. It said vegetable inflation has been the most volatile in the food category, in fact. Traders ignored report that S&P Global Market Intelligence said in its latest issue of PMI that India, the world's fifth largest economy in the world, is likely to overtake Japan to become the world's third-largest economy with a GDP of $7.3 trillion by 2030. On the global front, the British pound extended the previous day's losses on Wednesday after gloomy economic data affirmed the view that the Bank of England will likely hold rates steady when it announces its policy decision next week. Finally, the rupee ended at 83.17 (Provisional), weaker by 1 paisa from its previous close of 83.16 on Monday.

The FIIs as per Wednesday's data were net buyers in equity segment, while they were net sellers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 8242.92 crore against gross selling of Rs 7833.04 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 141.29 crore with gross sales of Rs 270.66 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 10.81 crore against gross selling of Rs 15.74 crore.

The US markets ended lower on Wednesday with interest rate sensitive megacaps weighing heavily the tech-laden index. Asian markets are trading in red on Thursday as investors parsed data that showed the economy grew at a slightly higher-than-expected pace in the third quarter. Indian markets ended lower for fifth straight session on Wednesday as broad-based selling hurt sentiment. Today, bears likely to continue their dominance on Dalal Street. Sensex and Nifty may start session in red tracking sell-off in the global markets as Alphabet shares slid after the Google parent posted disappointing earnings and as U.S. Treasury yields rose, reviving fears that interest rates could stay higher for longer. Also, traders likely to remain on sidelines amid worries that rising US bond yield may result in more fund outflows from India. Provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed that foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 4,236.60 crore on October 25. Traders may take note of Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das' statement that the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which is being promoted by the central bank, can play an important role in cross-border payments without much difficulty. He said the Reserve Bank has undertaken pilot projects with regard to promotion of the CBDC and the results have been excellent. The CBDC as a pilot was introduced in the wholesale and retail segments and will now be extended to overnight money markets. Meanwhile, in a move to strengthen governance in private sector banks and wholly-owned subsidiaries of foreign banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed them to have at least two whole time directors. Coal and power industry stocks will be in focus as the Union power ministry directed imported coal-based (ICB) units to run till June 2024 and all power generating companies to import coal up to 6 per cent of their requirements till March 2024. There will be some reaction in fertilizer industry stocks as the Cabinet approved Nutrients Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers for the rabi season (October - March) 2023-24 at Rs 22,303 crore. This represents a 57% decline compared to previous year thanks to a fall in the global prices of the soil nutrients. Meanwhile, IRM Energy's listing will be eyed. The issue price is fixed at Rs 505 apiece.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• IndusInd Bank has entered into strategic collaboration with Viamericas Corporation to offer digital inward remittance services to NRIs in the USA through its Indus Fast Remit. 
• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary company - Udanvat Leasing IFSC.  
• Tech Mahindra's subsidiary -- Tech Mahindra (Americas) Inc. has approved a proposal to divest its 30% holding in Avion Networks Inc on October 23, 2023. 
• ONGC has won a bid to acquire PTC India's wind power unit for Rs 925 crore as the state-owned firm continues to build a renewable energy portfolio to balance its fossil fuel business.