The headline equity indices ended with deep cuts on Monday, as the Israel-Palestine war weigh on market sentiment. The Nifty settled below the 19,550 mark. Barring the Nifty Healthcare index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in red.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 483.24 points or 0.73% to 65,512.39. The Nifty 50 index lost 141.15 points or 0.72% to 19,512.35.

The broader market underperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.22% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 1.72%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 994 shares rose and 2,803 shares fell. A total of 151 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, soared 12.11% to 11.55.

More than 1,000 people have already died as a result of the unanticipated onslaught on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which began on Saturday. This attack has heightened geopolitical tensions and driven oil prices rising, negatively impacting the overall investor sentiment.

Economy:

India's forex reserves dropped further by $3.794 billion to $586.908 billion for the week ended September 29, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had declined by $2.335 billion to $590.702 billion as of September 22.

Gold reserves were down by $576 million to $43.731 billion. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $74 million to $17.939 billion, the apex bank said.

The country's reserve position with the IMF was also down by $18 million to $5.002 billion in the reporting week, the central bank data showed.

Politics:

The Election Commission of India has declared the schedule for the upcoming assembly elections in five states. The states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram are set to go to the polls in what will be the final assembly elections before the crucial General Elections in 2024.

The Chhattisgarh assembly polls will be conducted in two phases, with the first phase scheduled for November 7 and the second phase on November 17. Mizoram will also hold its elections on November 7, followed by Madhya Pradesh on November 17, Rajasthan on November 23, and Telangana on November 30. The counting of votes for all five states will take place on December 3.

These elections carry significant importance as they will set the tone for the forthcoming General Elections in 2024.

With a total of 679 assembly seats across the five states, over 16 crore electors are expected to cast their votes. This includes approximately 60 lakh first-time voters, who will play a crucial role in shaping the future of their respective states.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index slipped 3.09% to 5,057.15. The index added 0.27% in the past trading session.

Central Bank of India (down 6.91%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 6.81%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 6.69%), UCO Bank (down 6.48%), Punjab & Sind Bank (down 6.06%), Union Bank of India (down 5.75%), Indian Bank (down 5.32%), Punjab National Bank (down 4.63%), Bank of India (down 4.33%) and Canara Bank (down 2.96%) tumbled.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) added 0.36%. TCS said that its board of directors will consider a proposal for buyback of equity shares of the company, at its meeting to be held on 11 October 2023. The board shall also consider declaration of second interim dividend to the equity shareholders. The record date for the said dividend is 19 October 2023.

Reliance Industries (RIL) shed 0.99%. RIL announced that Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) through a wholly owned subsidiary, will invest Rs 4,966.80 crore into the company's subsidiary, Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL). The investment values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of Rs 8.381 lakh crore, which makes it among the top four companies by equity value in the country. The investment by ADIA will translate into an equity stake of 0.59% in RRVL on a fully-diluted basis.

Titan Company declined 1.33%. Titan Company registered a revenue growth of 20% YoY in Q2 FY24, and added 81 stores during the period, taking the group's retail presence to 2,859 stores. The company's jewellery division showed 19% YoY revenue growth.

Tata Steel fell 2.07%. The steel major's India business reported 3.96% increase in crude steel production to 4.99 million tons in Q2 FY24 as compared with 4.80 million tons posted in Q2 FY23. Tata Steel Europe's production dropped by 17.08% to 1.99 million tons in Q2 FY24 from 2.40 million tons posted in corresponding quarter last year.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) rose 1.41%. SEBI Technical Advisory Committee has recommended that MCX and MCXCCL may Go-Live with the Commodity Derivative Platform (CDP) and to intimate SEBI regarding the proposed date for Go Live.

Biocon lost 1.32%. The company announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with Juno Pharmaceuticals for the commercialization of its vertically integrated, complex formulation, Liraglutide in Canada. Liraglutide is a drug-device combination for the treatment and management of Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Hindustan Zinc advanced 1.98%. The mining company received a penalty of Rs 1.81 crore from Central GST Audit Circle, Udaipur on 8 October for wrongly availed input tax credit between July 2017 and March 2018.

Bank of Baroda declined 1.70%. The public sector bank said that its total business had increased by 15.88% YoY to Rs 22,75,448 crore as on 30 September 2023 from Rs 19,63,668 crore as on 30 September 2022.

Prestige Estates Projects shed 0.52%. The real estate developer has registered sales of Rs 7,092.6 crore in Q2 FY24, recording the growth of 102% YoY.

IRB Infrastructure Developers slipped 3.94%. The company announced that its toll collection jumped 28% to 421 crore as on 30 September 2023 from Rs 328 crore in September 2022.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones futures were down 148 points, indicating a negative opening in the US stock market today.

Markets in Europe and Asia ended mixed on Monday, as investors assessed the implications of the military conflict in the Middle East and the associated surge in oil prices.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated to full-blown war over the weekend, as members of the Islamist group Hamas attacked several Israeli towns, killing hundreds of Israelis and abducted dozens more. In response, Israeli air strikes pounded numerous targets in Gaza, resulting in numerous casualties.

This new source of conflict, with the Ukrainian war still ongoing, has seen oil prices surge, to the detriment of most European and Asian stock markets. The higher oil prices could add to inflationary pressures, prompting more central bank tightening, and also acts as a tax on consumers.

Data released earlier Monday showed that German industrial production fell 0.2% on the month in August. Although this represents an improvement from the revised 0.6% drop the previous month, Germany, the eurozone's dominant economy, has a high exposure to energy costs, and thus a sustained rise in oil prices would be an unwelcome blow.

US stocks rallied on Friday after the release of stronger-than-expected US jobs data and a pop in Treasury yields. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 336,000 jobs in September, the Department of Labor said, while data for August was revised higher to show 227,000 jobs were added instead of the previously reported 187,000. The unemployment rate was unchanged at an 18-month high of 3.8%.

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