(Bloomberg) — Before the trading day starts we bring you a digest of the key news and events that are likely to move markets. Today we look at:
Good morning, this is Savio Shetty, an equities reporter in Mumbai. All eyes are on the Reserve Bank of India today, with chatter split on whether rates will move or stay put. Stock traders, though, are clearly hoping for a cut after the benchmark index wrapped up its roughest quarter of 2025, capped by an eighth straight loss on Tuesday. Even so, hedging costs on the Bank Nifty are still running below the one-year average, suggesting investors aren’t too rattled about policy-driven volatility. That bit of calm could be just the relief the market needs.
Metals shine as a safe-haven play
With local stocks grappling with global tariff worries and tech-related headwinds, investors are turning to metals for both diversification and resilience. China’s output cuts have tightened supply, pushing up the NSE Nifty Metal Index by 16% in 2025, with names like Tata Steel, Hindalco and JSW Steel seeing a surge in open interest in their equity futures. Brokerages such as Nomura and Morgan Stanley remain bullish, though risks tied to global trade and energy costs linger.
IT earnings to lack drama
Investors looking for catalysts may find software firms short on spark in the upcoming results season. ICICI Securities notes revenue growth could be a modest 0.5–1.5% in constant currency for top-tier firms, while visa costs, wage hikes and competition from global capability centres stay on watch. Valuations offer some comfort after the recent rout — Nifty IT gauge trades at a 10% premium to the Nifty 50, versus a five-year mean of 17%. Concerns over tariffs and higher H-1B fees linger, but no big surprises are seen in this earnings round.
It’s raining IPOs in Mumbai
It’s not just the rains — first-time share sales are flooding India’s financial hub. October could set a record with over $5 billion in fundraising as investor appetite stays strong. Billion-dollar deals from Tata Capital and LG Electronics Inc.’s local arm headline the calendar, boosting confidence that the country’s $5 trillion stock market can absorb a wave of new supply. Even as weak company earnings and US tariff worries cloud sentiment across Asia, the nation’s primary market remains a magnet for global capital.
Three great reads from Bloomberg today:
There is no dearth of metrics to mark Indian stocks’ sluggish run last month. The Nifty signed off on September little changed, but trailed MSCI Asia for the fifth straight month. The underperformance in the September quarter was the steepest since 2008. Foreign outflows, which picked up after last year’s market peak, have now reached 2022 levels on a rolling basis, Bloomberg-compiled data shows.
–With assistance from Kartik Goyal, Rajesh Mascarenhas and Ashutosh Joshi.
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