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In line with Asian peers, Indian equity benchmarks continued their lackluster trade in afternoon session with Sensex and Nifty trading below their psychological levels of 57100 and 17050, respectively. The sentiments were under pressure as India's factory growth dipped to a three-month low in September due to a moderation in demand and output, despite easing inflationary pressures and strong business confidence. According to the S&P Global's Purchasing Managers' Index, the S&P Global India Manufacturing PMI edged down to 55.1 from 56.2 in August. Traders were also worried as foreign investors turned sellers again in September and pulled out over Rs 7,600 crore from the Indian equity markets amid hawkish stance by the US Fed and sharp depreciation in rupee. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower following the broadly negative cues from US markets on Friday, reflecting lingering concerns about a recession and the global economic outlook.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57087.29, down by 339.63 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 56875.05 and 57454.84. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.02%, while Small cap index was up by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.63%, Telecom up by 1.44%, Oil & Gas up by 0.85%, Energy up by 0.74% and PSU was up by 0.38%, while Bankex down by 1.24%, Consumer Durables down by 0.97%, FMCG down by 0.86%, Auto down by 0.80% and IT was down by 0.40% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.63%, Sun Pharma up by 1.42%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.36%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.97% and Bharti Airtel was up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.21%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.11%, Indusind Bank down by 1.94%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.41% and ICICI Bank was down by 1.29% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) in its latest data has showed that India's unemployment rate drastically dropped to 6.43% in September due to an increase in labour participation in the rural and urban areas. During August, India's unemployment rate surged to a one-year high of 8.3% as employment sequentially fell by 2 million to 394.6 million.

As per the data, the unemployment rate in the rural areas fell to 5.84% in September from 7.68% in August, while in the urban areas it dropped to 7.7% against 9.57% in the previous month. CMIE managing director Mahesh Vyas said the almost-8 million increase in labour participation is a sign that the economy of the country is doing well.

The data showed the unemployment rate was the highest in Rajasthan at 23.8% in September, followed by Jammu and Kashmir at 23.2%, Haryana at 22.9%, Tripura at 17%, Jharkhand at 12.2% and Bihar at 11.4%. Unemployment was the lowest in Chhattisgarh at 0.1% in September, followed by Assam at 0.4%.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17006.20, down by 88.15 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 16946.00 and 17114.65. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 4.18%, Cipla up by 2.22%, Divi's Lab up by 2.13%, Coal India up by 2.10% and NTPC was up by 1.63%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 2.65%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.23%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.05%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.90% and Indusind Bank was down by 1.85% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Taiwan Weighted dropped 124.10 points or 0.92% to 13,300.48, Straits Times trembled 13.67 points or 0.44% to 3,116.57, Jakarta Composite lost 22.32 points or 0.32% to 7,018.48 and Hang Seng was down by 114.84 points or 0.67% to 17,107.99.  On the other hand, Nikkei 225 was up by 278.58 points or 1.07% to 26,215.79.

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