The US Federal Reserve maintained the federal funds rate at 3.75%-4% on Wednesday, October 28, as widely expected by market participants. The FOMC decision was approved by a 10-2 vote, with Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point rate hike. According to Mint, the Fed's policy decision is unlikely to have any significant impact on Indian stock markets, as the pause was already priced in by investors. V K Vijayakumar from Geojit Investments noted that "a pause is already discounted by the market and, therefore, is unlikely to have any impact. A positive trend in the market is that value buying is emerging since many segments of the market are becoming attractively valued." The Fed's statement emphasized that "economic activity is expanding at a strong pace" while acknowledging that "inflation remains elevated".
The Indian stock market benchmark indices ended Tuesday's session on a flat note, with sentiment remaining cautious over elevated crude oil prices and persisting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. According to reports from NDTV Profit, the Sensex closed 8.08 points, or 0.01%, lower at 73,598.67, while the Nifty 50 eased 3.45 points, or 0.02%, to end at 22,749.75. The Bank Nifty index ended 0.72% lower at 53,974.90, reflecting the overall market sentiment amid global uncertainties. As per Geojit Investments, high crude prices and caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision overshadowed supportive global cues, with these factors being key drivers of market flatness. The Sensex moved between 73,179.41 and 73,762.98 during the session, while the Nifty traded in a range of 22,636.85 to 22,829.75, showing significant intraday volatility. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.03% to USD 115.8 per barrel, providing some relief from the previous elevated levels.
Sectoral performance was mixed during Tuesday's volatile session, with buying in auto, pharma, realty and media stocks helping limit losses despite broader market weakness. According to latest market data, the Nifty Auto index rose 1.48%, the Nifty Pharma index gained 1.91%, and the Nifty Realty index advanced 1.94%. The Nifty Media index jumped 3.66%, while the Nifty Metal index added 0.64% and the PSU Bank index rose 0.41%. However, the Nifty IT index fell 0.26%, and the Nifty Private Bank index declined 0.73%. Among Sensex constituents, Bharti Airtel was the top gainer, rising 3.18%, while Trent gained 2.40% and Maruti Suzuki advanced 2.28%. On the losing side, Axis Bank fell 1.53%, TCS declined 1.42%, and ICICI Bank shed 0.96%. State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were among the major laggards during the session.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their selling spree, offloading equities worth ₹1,462.49 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. This sustained outflow pattern has been a key factor influencing market sentiment and contributing to the overall flat performance of benchmark indices. The continued foreign selling pressure, combined with domestic profit booking in IT and private banking sectors, has created additional headwinds for the Indian equity markets despite some resilience in selective sectors. According to Mint, Chokkalingam explained that foreign portfolio investors are selling Indian stocks for two reasons: First, a lot of money has gone into the primary market, and second, due to the rupee's weakness. "As long as the IPO boom continues, foreign investor selling in the secondary market is likely to persist. Also, as long as oil prices remain high, the outlook for the rupee will remain somewhat pessimistic. Therefore, foreign investor selling is likely to continue."
US stocks opened higher on Tuesday, October 27 ahead of Big Tech earnings, while easing crude oil prices ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision gave some relief to investors. As reported by NDTV Profit, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.42% to 26,279.81, the S&P 500 advanced 0.33% to 7,701.76, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 0.28% to 52,361.58 by 9:31 am ET or 7:01 pm IST. In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's 225 index ended significantly higher, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index settled lower. According to Geojit Investments, "Indian equities ended flat amid a volatile session, as elevated crude prices and caution ahead of the US Fed policy decision overshadowed supportive global cues. Profit booking dragged IT and private banks, while pharma, autos, PSU banks and realty gained, with resilient broader-market participation pointing to selective domestic risk appetite." However, the US 10-year bond yields rose to 5.046% from 4.993% in the previous session, which is a negative for emerging markets like India. As per Mint, G Chokkalingam noted that "with Brent crude at $115 per barrel, it would be a much bigger pain for India than the impact of rising US bond yields."
L&T delivered strong Q2 results with net profit of ₹5,202 crore versus estimate of ₹4,342 crore, up 33% year-on-year, while revenue reached ₹78,750 crore versus estimate of ₹73,303 crore, up 16% YoY. According to NDTV Profit, the company's Q2 order book increased 28% to ₹1.47 lakh crore YoY, with green energy revenue growing 43% to ₹11,494 crore and manufacturing revenue up 31% to ₹4,639 crore. Maruti Suzuki reported net profit of ₹2,415 crore versus estimate of ₹2,933 crore, down 26.9% YoY, with revenue up 26% to ₹53,340 crore but EBITDA margin declining to 8.9% from 12% YoY due to adverse commodity price impacts.
