Indian markets snapped their two-day winning streak and ended lackluster session in red terrain on Thursday. Today, markets are likely to get gap-down opening tracking sell-off in global peers following the fresh spike in US bond yields. There will be some cautiousness after Infosys narrowed its revenue growth guidance for the full year at the upper end and has now guided for revenue growth of 1-2.5 percent for the full year. This comes after it sharply slashed the guidance last quarter to 1-3.5 percent from 4-7 percent. Persistent foreign fund outflows likely to dent sentiments. According to the provisional data available on the NSE, foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded shares worth net Rs 1,862.57 crore on October 12, 2023. Traders will be concerned as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said domestic consumption and investment demand will drive economic growth, but inflationary pressures may remain elevated warranting greater vigilance by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). However, some respite may come with strong macro-economic data. The data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed that India's industrial output grew by 10.3 percent in August. At 10.3 percent, the latest industrial growth figure as per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is the highest in 14 months. Also, India's headline retail inflation rate fell to 5.02 percent in September, thanks to a huge drop in vegetable prices. At 5.02 percent, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation print for September is 181 basis points lower than August's 6.83 percent. Traders may take note of report that Union Minister Piyush Goyal asked the industrialists of the country to accelerate production activity and contribute to making India a global hub for manufacturing. The Minister emphasized the Government's steadfast commitment to providing consistent policies while acknowledging the pivotal role and the support from industry leaders. Banking stocks will be in focus as the results of the seventeenth round of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry-Indian Banks Association (FICCI-IBA) survey showed that the health of banks has witnessed a notable turnaround, characterized by stronger bank balance sheets and a gross Non-Performing Asset (NPA) ratio at a decade low. Meanwhile, private report noted that the domestic steel and cement industry will require an additional Rs 47 lakh crore investment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. Investors will continue to keep eye on quarterly earnings report.

The US markets ended lower on Thursday after Treasury yields surged as stronger-than-expected inflation data revived Fed rate-hike worries. Asian markets are trading mostly in red on Friday following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight.

Back home, Snapping the two-day winning streak, Indian equity benchmarks ended flat with negative bias in the volatile session on Thursday largely due to selling in IT, TECK and Realty stocks. Key gauges made a slightly positive start but soon turned volatile as investors remained on sidelines ahead of Consumer Price Index (CPI) or retail inflation and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data to be out later in the day for more directional cues. Sentiments remained cautious as the International Monetary Fund’s Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, Ruud de Mooij said that India has a high debt like that of China but the risks associated with it are not as great as that of its northern neighbour. Some concern came as Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri warned surging oil prices could hinder the economic recovery of many nations by curbing demand. Some cautiousness also came in as provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded shares worth Rs 421.77 crore on October 11. Markets remained in lackluster mood in late afternoon deals, as traders' body CAIT flagged the 'inordinate delay' in the roll-out of a national e-commerce policy and consumer protection rules, saying the delay in their implementation has provided an opportunity to certain foreign e-commerce players to damage domestic retail trade. However, losses remained capped as some support came as India and the United Kingdom (UK) are likely to sign a Foreign Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of October as both parties aim to iron out differences on key issues, including rules of origin and visas for Indian professionals. Traders also took a note of Federation of Indian Export Organisations’ (FIEO) study stating that aggressive marketing strategy including support from the government can help Indian businesses tap $112 billion export potential in ten countries like the US and UK in three years. It said that to tap this potential, a proper strategy is required. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 64.66 points or 0.10% to 66,408.39 and the CNX Nifty was down by 17.35 points or 0.09% to 19,794.00.