Indian equity benchmark indices opened the session with a gap-down, and losses have deepened as the day progressed. By midday, the NIFTY50 index had fallen below the 25,900 mark, down by 1.09%, while the SENSEX dropped over 1000 points t0 84,569 level. This sharp decline marks the steepest single-day drop for the NIFTY50 in the last 16 trading sessions. Nifty Bank also recorded its sharpest decline since July 6, falling by 1.35%. Meanwhile, the India VIX surged by 7%, indicating heighted market volatility.

Shares of LTI Mindtree jumped over 2% after the company announced a partnership with leading retail technology and product & services firm Currys. The shares were trading 2.2% higher at ₹6,264 apiece on the NSE.

LTIMindtree has strengthened its partnership with Currys, a leading UK retailer of technology products and services, by enabling the transformation of its omni-channel retail customer experiences leveraging Salesforce Service Cloud, Commerce Cloud and MuleSoft. This partnership was recognised with the Dreamforce Partner Innovation Award at Dreamforce 2024 in San Franciso, USA. Key solutions implemented in the transformation include the re-platforming of the website to Salesforce Commerce Cloud, the launch of an in-store client app on Experience Cloud, and the implementation of Service Cloud for post-sales support.

The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal has said that the 14 sectors covered under the production linked incentive (PLI) schemes have witnessed investments of ₹1.46 lakh crore till August and the capital infusion is expected to reach ₹2 lakh crore in the coming years. This has resulted in production/sales worth ₹12.50 lakh crore and employment generation of around 9.5 lakh (direct and indirect), which is expected to reach 12 lakh soon. Exports have exceeded ₹4 lakh crore, with substantial contribution from key sectors such as electronics, pharmaceuticals and food processing.

Goyal urged the Indian industry to focus on prioritising the production of high-quality goods to promote Brand India through sustainable practices. He also called for focusing on increasing domestic value addition and extending support to domestic manufacturers in this regard. He added that the government is committed to fast-tracking all the necessary approvals related to PLI industry and also providing handholding support in achieving greater market access.

Metal stocks were in focus on Monday with companies like NMDC, MOIL, JSW Steel, and Tata Steel trading in the green. The companies saw gains during the session on the back of China’s stimulus measures to revive the economy. Metal stocks are positioned to benefit from the resurgence in Chinese demand.

Starting last week, the People’s Bank of China announced a series of measures to provide growth stimulus to the economy and revive demand as concerns about a deflationary economy grew. The country’s economy has witnessed a contraction in demand and production over the past few years.

Indian markets open lower on Monday led by mixed global cues. The NIFTY50 opened 90 points lower at 26,080 levels , while SENSEX opened 350 points lower at 85,200 levels indicating a profit booking stance by investors on Monday morning. The broader markets too witnessed profit booking as NIFTY midcap and small-cap are trading 0.4% lower on Monday morning.

Metal stocks shine on Monday morning after China's Central bank announce more stimulus measures over the weekend. Key metal stocks like Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Hindalco are trading 1.5% to 2.2% higher on Monday morning. The NIFTY metal index is amongst the top sectoral gainers with 1.6% gains. While NIFTY realty and NIFTY IT are among the top losers.