Only five stocks, including JSW Steel, Tata Steel, NTPC, Asian Paint, and Titan, out of the 30 on the BSE Sensex were trading in green, with gains of up to 2.58 per cent. Losses (of up to 3.14 per cent) were led by Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and Tech Mahindra.
On the Nifty 50 too, 38 of the 50 stocks were trading with losses. Among the gainers were JSW Steel (up 2.74 per cent), followed by NTPC, Britannia Industries, Hindalco Industries, and Tata Steel, while the top drags included Hero MotoCorp (down 4.17 per cent), followed by Trent, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Auto, and Mahindra & Mahindra.
The Realty index was the top sectoral laggard, falling 2.53 per cent, followed by the Auto index, which was down 2.30 per cent.
Other sectoral laggards included Financial Services (down 1.61 per cent), Bank (down 1.49 per cent), followed by Pharma, Health, Oil & Gas, and Consumer Durables.
In contrast, only two sectoral indices, Metal (up 1.03 per cent) and Media (up 0.48 per cent), were trading in the green.
That apart, the broader markets were also trading in the red, with the BSE MidCap down 0.54 per cent, and the BSE SmallCap down 0.13 per cent.
Share markets turned hesitant in Asia on Monday as strife in the Middle East offset more policy measures in China, while the Nikkei dived on concerns Japan’s new prime minister favoured normalising interest rates.
The stimulus rush in China did help outweigh a poor manufacturing survey and lift the blue-chip CSI300 another 7.7 per cent, having already jumped 16 per cent last week. The Shanghai Composite climbed 7.1 per cent, on top of last week’s 13 per cent rally.
Continued Israeli strikes across Lebanon added geopolitical uncertainty to the mix, though oil prices were still restrained by the risk of increased supply.
The week is packed with major US economic data including a payrolls report that could decide whether the Federal Reserve delivers another outsized rate cut in November.
The Nikkei led the early action with a dive of 4.6 per cent as investors anxiously waited for more direction from new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has been critical of the Bank of Japan’s easy policies in the past.
However, he sounded more conciliatory over the weekend saying monetary policy “must remain accommodative” given the state of the economy.
That helped the dollar hold around 142.10 yen, after sliding 1.8 per cent on Friday from a 146.49 top.
In China, the central bank said it would tell banks to lower mortgage rates for existing home loans by the end of October, likely by 50 basis points on average.
That follows a barrage of monetary, fiscal and liquidity support measures announced last week in Beijing’s biggest stimulus package since the pandemic.
The rally in China helped MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firm 0.8 per cent, having surged 6.1 per cent last week to a seven-month high.
Wall Street also had a rousing week helped by a benign reading on core US inflation on Friday that left the door open to another half-point rate cut from the Fed.
Futures imply around a 55 per cent chance the Fed will ease by 50 basis points on Nov. 7, though the presidential election two days earlier remains a major unknown.
A host of Fed speakers will have their say this week, led by Chair Jerome Powell later on Monday. Also due are data on job openings and private hiring, along with ISM surveys on manufacturing and services.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures crept up 0.1 per cent, while FTSE futures and DAX futures eased a fraction.
S&P 500 futures were flat, while Nasdaq futures dipped 0.1 per cent.
In currency markets, the dollar index was flat at 100.43 after easing 0.3 per cent last week.
A softer dollar combined with lower bond yields helped gold reach record highs at $2,685 an ounce. It was last at $2,656 an ounce, and on track for its best quarter since 2016.
Oil prices crept higher at tensions in the Middle East offset concerns about possible increased supply from Saudi Arabia.
Brent rose 37 cents to $72.35 a barrel, while US crude gained 34 cents to $68.52 per barrel.
