Opening Bell : Benchmarks likely to make cautious start amid mixed global cues
Indian equity markets are likely to make a cautious start on Monday amid mixed global cues. Traders are likely to adopt a wait-and-watch approach ahead of release of the HSBC Manufacturing PMI for October. Additionally, some cautiousness may come from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who were net sellers of shares worth Rs 6,769.34 crore.
Some of the key factors to be watched:
GST collection grows at slower pace of 4.6% in October: Festive buying spree unleashed by lower tax rates pushed gross GST collection to about Rs 1.96 lakh crore in October, registering a 4.6 per cent year-on-year growth -- the slowest rate so far this fiscal.
India’s forex reserves drop $6.9 billion to $695.35 billion: RBI said that India's forex reserves dropped by $6.925 billion to $695.355 billion during the week ended October 24.
India's exports to US dip 37.5% during May-Sep 2025: The think tank GTRI has said that India's exports to the US have dipped 37.5 per cent during May-September 2025 from $8.8 billion in May to $5.5 billion in September. It said that exports of pharmaceuticals, smartphones, metals and auto have declined during the period.
Fiscal deficit in first half of FY26 stands at 36.5% of full-year target: Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data said that the Centre's fiscal deficit stood at 36.5 per cent of the full-year target at the end of first half of FY26. The fiscal deficit was 29 per cent of the Budget Estimates (BE) of 2024-25 in the first six months of the previous financial year.
India should continue trade negotiations with US: Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Chairman S Mahendra Dev said that India should diversify exports to other countries, fasten free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and also continue dialogues with Washington to conclude the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US.
On the global front: The US markets ended in green on Friday as traders reacted positively towards Amazon’s earnings news. Asian markets are trading mixed on Monday, as traders are awaiting key manufacturing activity data from China.
Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended notably lower for second straight session on Friday as renewed foreign investor selling overshadowed upbeat corporate earnings. Markets started the session marginally in red tracking weak global cues amid renewed uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates. But, soon markets recovered and entered in green terrain. Though, the recovery proved to be short-levied and markets slipped below neutral lines amid concerns over renewed selling by foreign investors. In dying hours of trade, markets magnified their losses as investors avoided to take any long position ahead of macro-economic data and auto production numbers in the next week. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 465.75 points or 0.55% to 83,938.71 and the CNX Nifty was down by 155.75 points or 0.60% to 25,722.10.
Some of the important factors in trade:
Foreign fund outflows: The fund outflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) weighed on trading sentiments. The FIIs were the net seller on Thursday’s session, offloading equities worth Rs 3,077.59 crore.
India’s engineering goods exports grow in September: Traders overlooked the EEPC’s statement that India’s engineering goods exports maintained a growth trajectory for the fourth consecutive month in September, with a 2.93 per cent rise year-on-year to $10.11 billion.
China grants licences to Indian companies to import rare earth magnets: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that China granted licences to certain Indian companies to import rare earth magnets.
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