Benchmark indices declined more than 4 percent this week; All the sectoral indices ended in red; Broader market indices also closed lower by falling more than 2 percent

Weekly Market Report

This week, BSE Sensex declined 3,883.4 points or 4.53 percent to finish at 81,688.45, while the Nifty50 index fell 1,164.35 points or 4.44 percent to end at 25,014.60. It is the biggest weekly fall since June 2022.

All the sectoral indices ended in the red with BSE Realty shed 8 percent, BSE Auto index shed 6 percent, the BSE Telecom index falling 5 percent, and BSE Energy index declining nearly 5 percent.

The Indian Markets underperformed most global markets. The Chinese market was up 22% last week, while other major global markets were weak. The increase in geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran weighed on risk assets, while crude oil rose by US$5.5/bbl to USD 78/bbl.

Among broader indices, the BSE Small-cap index shed 2 percent, the BSE Midcap index fell 3.2 percent and the Largecap index declined over 4 percent.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 40,511.50 crore, however, Domestic Institutional Investors (DII) bought equities worth Rs 33,074.39 crore.

ECONOMICS

There is confidence in India amidst growing regional conflict, says PM Narendra Modi

In the wake of expanding Middle Eastern conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 4 stressed the importance of India even as the world is ravaged by geopolitical uncertainties.

“Two regions, which are important from an energy security perspective, are in a war-like situation. Amidst this global uncertainty, we are talking about the Indian era. This shows that there is confidence in India,” the prime minister remarked at the third edition of the Kautilya Economic Conclave.

The prime minister stressed the performance of the Indian economy in FY24, highlighting that it had beaten forecasts from all major agencies and noted that India may repeat that task this year.

Cabinet approves productivity-linked bonus worth Rs 2,028 cr for railway employees

The Union Cabinet announced and approved payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) for the country’s 11,72,240 railway employees at a total cost of Rs 2,028.57 crore, aimed to recognize and motivate the staff for their excellent performance.

The payment of PLB acts as an incentive to motivate the railway employees to work towards improvement in the performance of the Railways. The maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee is Rs 17,951 for 78 days.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Dow registers record high close as US jobs data eases economic worries

The Dow posted a record closing high on Friday and the Nasdaq ended with a more than 1% gain as a stronger-than-expected jobs report reassured investors who had worried the economy may be getting too weak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 341.16 points, or 0.81%, to 42,352.75, the S&P 500 gained 51.13 points, or 0.90%, to 5,751.07 and the Nasdaq Composite added 219.37 points, or 1.22%, to 18,137.85.

Oil rises as Middle East conflict deepens, gains capped by global supply outlook

Oil prices ticked higher in early trade on Thursday as investors weighed the escalating conflict in the Middle East and the potential for disruption to crude flows, against an amply-supplied global market.

Brent crude futures increased 64 cents, or 0.87%, to $74.54 a barrel as of 0006 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 72 cents, or 1.03%, to $70.82 a barrel.

STOCKS IN NEWS

Titan: Titan Company on October 4 posted a growth of about 25 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of FY25, the company said in its quarterly business update. A total of 75 stores (net) were added, taking Titan’s total combined retail network presence to 3,171 stores, the Tata Group company said. Domestic jewelry operations saw a growth of 25 percent YoY.

Piramal Capital: Piramal Capital and Housing Finance on Friday said it has raised $150 million through a global bond sale. The bonds will be issued at a yield of 7.078 percent and will have to be repaid in 3.32 years, according to a company statement. The company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises, had raised USD 300 million from a sustainability bond issuance in July this year.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories: The company has entered into a royalty-free non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences Ireland UC for the manufacture and commercialization of Lenacapavir, in India and 120 other countries.

Mankind Pharma: The company, however, did not disclose how it aims to utilize the raised capital. In July this year, Mankind announced the acquisition of Bharat Serums and Vaccines from Advent International for around Rs 13,630 crore.