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Indian markets ended in red on Thursday tracking muted global cues amid uncertainty about the trajectory of the U.S. economy. Today, markets likely to start trade for the last day of Samvat 2079 on negative note mirroring weak global cues and a jump in Treasury yields after Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated the Fed will make future monetary policy decisions meeting by meeting based on the totality of incoming data and the implications for the outlook for economic activity and inflation. Investors may react to the RBI governor Shaktikanta Das’ statement that retail inflation remains vulnerable to recurring and overlapping food price shocks. Persistent foreign fund outflows likely to dent sentiments. Provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed that foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 1,712.33 crore on November 9. However, some respite may come later in the day as Moody’s Investors Service retained India’s economic growth forecast for 2023 at 6.7 per cent and said strong domestic demand will likely sustain the growth in the near term. With exports remaining weak against an unfavourable global economic backdrop, Moody’s in its Global Macroeconomic Outlook 2024-25 said sustained domestic demand growth is propelling India’s economy. Some support may also come as a private report said the pace of India's consumer price inflation likely eased further to a four-month low of 4.80% in October, closer to the Reserve Bank of India's 4% medium-term target. Banking stocks will be in focus as Fitch Ratings said Indian Banks’ Viability Ratings (VR) will continue to benefit from improved operating conditions and performance in the near term. It expects Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to remain stable across banks as they are driven by its expectation of extraordinary support from the Indian sovereign (BBB-/Stable), should there be a need. Investors will keep eye on Q2FY24 result. LIC, M&M, ONGC, Coal India, Hindustan Aeronautics, Hindalco, SAIL, Ipca Labs, Biocon, Tata Chemicals, and Hudco are among the notable companies scheduled to report September quarter results today. ESAF Small Finance Bank shares will debut on the stock exchanges on Friday at an issue price of Rs 60.

The US markets ended lower on Thursday as Treasury yields climbed after a disappointing auction of 30-year bonds and comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Asian markets are trading in red on Friday retreating from small gains made in the previous session amid a downbeat tone set by U.S. markets overnight.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended on a negative note in the volatile session on Thursday, amid fag-end selling. After making a slightly positive start, markets soon turned volatile as traders were cautious with provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showing that foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 84.55 crore on November 8. However, markets erased initial losses and managed to keep their heads above water in afternoon deals, as some support came with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the government is looking at easing certain restrictions for units in the special economic zones (SEZ) to promote the sector's growth. SEZs in India are treated as foreign territories for trade and customs duties, with restrictions on duty-free domestic sales. But, buying proved short-lived as key gauges once again fell into red terrain in late afternoon deals, as sentiments got hit amid a private report stating that India's industrial growth likely cooled to 7.5 percent in September on account of some weakening of momentum in activity. According to a report, industrial growth - as per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) - likely fell in September for the first time in three months, with high-frequency data indicative of a slowdown. Traders overlooked report that Moody's Investors Service retained India's economic growth forecast for 2023 at 6.7 per cent and said strong domestic demand will likely sustain the growth in the near term. Traders took a note of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal’s statement that the growth in October Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections, which is the second highest ever, is on account of economic activity and not due to show cause notices to online gaming companies. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 143.41 points or 0.22% to 64,832.20 and the CNX Nifty was down by 48.20 points or 0.25% to 19,395.30.

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