Indian markets ended on a negative note for the second straight session on Wednesday weighed by weak manufacturing data for the month of October. Today, markets are likely to get gap-up opening following the rally in global markets after the US Fed Reserve's signalled likely pause on future rate hikes. Sentiments will get a boost as India's goods and services tax (GST) collections in October grew 13 per cent over a year earlier to Rs 1.72 trillion, mainly on account of stricter anti-evasion measures and higher festival-season consumer spending. This was the second-highest monthly figure ever, next only to the Rs 1.87 trillion collected in April this year. Traders will be taking encouragement as data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed India’s services trade surplus bounced back in the September quarter of 2023-24 (FY24), growing 26.6 per cent after falling to a three-quarter low in June. Some support will also come with a private report that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation wave is likely to create a need to reskill and upskill 16.2 million workers in India in the next five years. According to report, the rise of emerging technologies such as AI may create around 4.7 million new technology jobs in India. Meanwhile, India and Sri Lanka have relaunched the negotiations for the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ECTA) after a five-year hiatus. Besides, regulator Irdai has set up a high-level panel to suggest steps to increase the participation of banks for easy availability of insurance products across the country. Auto stocks will be in focus with report that domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales reached a new peak for a third consecutive month in October, helped by strong festival-season demand and momentum in the economy. There will be some reaction in power sector stocks as the country's power consumption grew nearly 22 per cent to 138.94 billion units (BU) in October, showing a surge in electricity demand due to festivities and increased economic activities. On the earnings front, Dabur, Godrej Properties, IRFC, Karnataka Bank, Suzlon and Tata Motors are scheduled to report September quarter earnings today. In the primary market, Mamaearth IPO will close today.

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday after the US Fed left rates unchanged for the second straight time. Asian markets are trading in green on Thursday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended on a negative note for the second straight session on Wednesday due to weakness in Metal, Power and Basic Materials stocks. After making a cautious start, key indices fell into red and traded with a negative bias throughout the day, amid unabated foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 696.02 crore on October 31, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed. Traders were cautious as the output of eight key infrastructure industries - known as the core sector - slowed to a four-month low of 8.1 per cent in September, on the back of a high base and a slowdown in seven constituent sectors. Markets extended losses in the second half and closed near the day’s lows, as cautiousness prevailed in the markets with a private survey showing that India's manufacturing growth slowed for a second straight month in October as demand eased, which alongside bigger increases in the cost of raw materials had an impact on business confidence. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, dropped to an eight-month low of 55.5 in October from 57.5 in September. Traders overlooked data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) showing that the Centre’s tax collections continued to exhibit buoyancy with gross-tax revenue (GTR), net of refunds, recording a sharp 16.3% year-on-year growth in the first half of FY24. This compares with 10% growth budgeted for the whole fiscal year. Meanwhile, data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) has showed that the central government’s fiscal deficit touched 39.3 per cent of the full year target in the first half of the current financial year, slightly higher than 37.3 per cent recorded in the year-ago period. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 283.60 points or 0.44% to 63,591.33 and the CNX Nifty was down by 90.45 points or 0.47% to 18,989.15.