Business: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty started trading on a weak note on Thursday but later settled steady in highly volatile trade amid mixed global cues. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 138.36 points or 0.16 per cent to 84,328.15 in morning trade. Meanwhile, NSE Nifty fell 38.50 points or 0.15 percent to 25,837.30. However, later both the benchmark indices oscillated between higher and lower levels.

Condition of Sensex companies
Among the Sensex companies, Tata Motors Commercial Vehicle Business, Eternal, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, ITC, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharat Electronics Limited were among the laggards. On the other hand, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Trent, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India were among the gainers.

Impact of Bihar election results
VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, said more triggers are needed to take the market to new record highs. The market has largely ignored the Bihar election results, so there is no political trigger that can take the market much higher. If the actual election results turn out to be different from the exit polls, the situation may be reversed.

Economic factors will have to be kept an eye on
Vijayakumar said important economic factors to keep an eye on include the India-US trade agreement to remove punitive tariffs and reduce reciprocal tariffs. A 0.25 per cent decline in retail inflation in India in October suggests the possibility of a rate cut by the MPC in December. But weakening of monetary policy has become a challenge for RBI.

He further said that the market is likely to consolidate in the near term and then react to triggers as they arise. Coinciding with positive triggers could promote short-covering, sending the market sharply higher. But given FII selling and elevated valuations, it will be challenging to maintain the sustained bullishness.

Mixed trend in Asian markets
Broader Asian stock markets were mixed. Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmarks were trading in positive territory, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s Kospi were trading in the red. On Wednesday, US markets closed with gains in overnight deals.

The price of Brent crude fell to $ 62.63 per barrel.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.13 percent to $62.63 a barrel. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,750.03 crore for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net buyers of shares worth Rs 5,127.12 crore, according to exchange data. On Wednesday, BSE Sensex closed at 84,466.51, up 595.19 points. The 50-share NSE Nifty closed at 25,875.80, up 180.85 points.