Market slides for 3rd day; Sensex down by 135 pts; Nifty falls to 11,642

Stock Market Highlights: Key equity benchmarks declined for a third straight session on Friday, October 30, 2020, mirroring weak global cues. After opening higher, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 135.78 points or 0.34 per cent to settle at 39,614.07. The Nifty 50 index lost 28.40 points or 0.24 per cent to end at 11,642.40. The Nifty Bank lost 191.10 points or 0.79 per cent and closed at 23,900.90.

The broader market at BSE, the BSE Mid-Cap closed rose 0.68 per cent, while the BSE Small-Cap index depreciated 0.03 per cent.

The market breadth was mildly positive. On the BSE, 1345 shares rose and 1235 shares fell. On similar lines, 27 shares advanced in Nifty 50 while 23 declined. The top five gainers on Nifty block were Adani Ports (up 4.46 per cent), BPCL (up 3.51 per cent), Coal India (up 3.43 per cent), NTPC (up 2.14 per cent) and Sun Pharma (2.14 per cent). The top five losers were Bharti Airtel (down 4 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (down 3.08 per cent), Maruti (down 2.52 per cent), Eicher Motors (down 2.43 per cent) and Bajaj Finance (down 2.37 per cent).

COVID-19 update and European Union's plan related to the pandemic

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 4,50,29,008 with 11,81,108 deaths. India reported 5,94,386 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,21,090 deaths, while 73,73,375 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Plus Maharashtra government has extended the COVID-19 induced lockdown for another month, till midnight of November 30, 2020.

The European Union (EU) plans to finance the transfer of Covid-19 patients across borders within the bloc to avoid overburdening of hospitals as the virus surges across the continent. The European Central Bank (ECB) left policy unchanged on Thursday. However, it warned that the pandemic posed risks to economic growth and it would reassess whether more support is needed at its December 10, 2020 meeting, when new projections become available.

Japan's Industrial Output

Japan's industrial output rose 4 per cent in September from the previous month, according to a preliminary report released Friday by the country's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

US GDP numbers

The US economy grew at an unrivalled pace in the third quarter. GDP rebounded at a 33.1 per cent annualised rate last quarter, the Commerce Department said in its advance estimate on Thursday. That was the fastest pace since the government started keeping records in 1947 and followed a historic shrinkage rate of 31.4 per cent in the second quarter.

India's Fiscal Deficit

India's fiscal deficit was at Rs 9.1 lakh crore halfway through this financial year, exceeding the full-year target of Rs 7.96 lakh crore by almost 15 per cent, according to official data released on Thursday.