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Indian markets snapped 7-day winning streak and ended lower on Tuesday as investors reassessed risks such as hawkish central bank policies and prospects of an earnings downgrade. Today, the start of the F&O series expiry session is likely to be in green tracking other Asian counterparts. However, the expiry day is very much likely to bring in volatility later in the day. Some support will come as S&P Global Market Intelligence said Asia-Pacific region, which produces 35 per cent of the world GDP, is expected to dominate global economic growth in 2023, supported by regional free-trade agreements, efficient supply chains, and competitive costs. It also said Southeast Asia and India will benefit from trade diversification away from mainland China. Besides, describing India as an economic superpower, Britain said that it was working towards the best Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that is beneficial to both the countries. However, some cautiousness may come as formal job creation in India slowed down in August after remaining buoyant for the last four months across the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation and the National Pension Scheme. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 247.01 crore on October 25, provisional data available on the NSE shows. There will be some buzz in telecom stocks as Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the telecom companies must raise the 5G towers installation per week to at least 10,000 per week from the current 2,500 per week. Around 8,000 towers is ready to help telcos scale the 5G infrastructure, however, the speed of 5G roll-out needs to be maintained. Healthcare sector stocks will be in focus with report that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is in the process of doing a comprehensive audit of the country’s health sector, and is adopting an approach different from its earlier exercises, whose remit was relatively narrow. There will be some reaction in real estate industry stocks with a private report that going by the momentum of housing sales in the ongoing festive period and that of the first three quarters of this year, 2022 is likely to breach the previous peak of 2014 with an all-time high sales across the top seven cities. There will be lots of earnings announcements too, to keep the markets in action.

The US markets ended mostly in red on Wednesday as gloomy earnings guidance added to growing fears of a global economic slowdown. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Thursday as investors digest economic data in the region.

Back home, Last hour selling dragged Indian equity markets to end near day’s low points on Tuesday, with Sensex and Nifty closing lower by around half a percent each. After a positive start, markets soon turned negative, as the Finance Ministry’s Economic Review stated that inflation might witness another resurgence in case of deterioration of geo-political situation leading to higher global energy prices and supply chain pressures. Adding more worries among traders, the RBI said India’s forex reserves dropped by $4.50 billion to $528.37 billion for the week ended October 14. Weak trade continued over the Dalal Street for the most part of the session, on the back of negative cues from the global markets. Traders were concerned on private report stating that the government will not infuse any capital into public sector banks (PSBs) this financial year (FY23). This will happen for the first time since FY08. Some cautiousness also came as foreign investors have pulled out close to Rs 6,000 crore from the Indian equity markets so far this month in the wake of strength in the US dollar against the rupee. In the last hour of the trade, markets added more losses, amid a private report stating that owing to decreased funding and crashes in late-stage deals, several startups in India may lose their Unicorn status. A company with a valuation of over $1 billion is considered to be a Unicorn in India. Besides, the finance ministry said that Indian fiscal and monetary authorities must remain watchful even as the nation is one of the bright spots amid a 'gloomy global scenario where the dark clouds of recession gather'. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 287.70 points or 0.48% to 59,543.96 and the CNX Nifty was down by 74.40 points or 0.42% to 17,656.35.

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