Asian shares declined today as Treasury yields surged after the latest US inflation data bolstered bets on Federal Reserve rate hikes.

In US markets, Wall Street's main indexes fell overnight as Treasury yields rose after data showed consumer prices rose more than expected in September.

The Labor Department report showed US consumer prices rose 0.4% in September versus estimates of a 0.3% rise.

The Dow fell 0.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.6%.

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a negative note.

Benchmark indices are cautious today after the release of US Fed meeting minutes, revealing a hawkish tone towards future rate hikes.

Meanwhile, domestic data released yesterday showed that India's retail inflation eased to 5.02% in September on an annual basis as against 6.83% in August.

Shares of HDFC Life and Sai Silks are in focus as these companies will announce their second quarter results today.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading down by 320 points and NSE Nifty is down by 82 points.

HCL Tech and Nestle India are among the top gainers today.

Infosys and Axis Bank on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading 0.2% higher and the BSE Small Cap index is up 0.3%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the realty sector and telecom sector witnessing most of the buying.

While IT stocks and banking stocks are trading in red.

Shares of TVS Srichakra and Angel Broking hit their 52-week high today.

Market participants are also tracking shares of PNB, Hindustan Copper, BHEL, and Delta Corp as these stocks are under the F&O ban list today.

The rupee is trading at Rs 83.23 against the US dollar.

The rupee paused its two-day rally and settled 6 paise lower at 83.24 on Thursday.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.2% higher at Rs 58,015 per 10 grams today.

Gold edged up today but traded below two-week highs hit in the last session, as a bigger-than-expected jump in US consumer prices boosted bets interest rates would stay high for longer.

Oil prices are up today after the US tightened its sanctions program against Russian crude exports, raising supply concerns in an already tight market, and global inventories are forecast to decline through the fourth quarter.
 

Infosys Co-Founder Picks Stake in Gokaldas Exports

In the latest developments from the apparel space, Infosys cofounder Narayana Murthy's investment vehicle Catamaran Ventures has picked up a 1.12% stake in Gokaldas Exports.

As per the company's latest shareholding pattern published on the BSE, Catamaran Ventures owned 678,003 shares in Gokaldas Exports, worth over Rs 570 million.

Gokaldas Exports is one of India's largest garment manufacturers and exporters.

Other prominent shareholders in the company include Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which owns a 3.19% stake, Goldman Sachs, and HSBC.

For the first quarter of FY24, Gokaldas Exports reported operating revenue of Rs 5.1 bn and a net profit of Rs 325 million.

In August 2023, Gokaldas Exports said it was acquiring Dubai-headquartered apparel manufacturer Atraco Group with customers in the US and Europe for around Rs 4.5 bn.

Note that shares of the company have shot up in the past year and are currently trading at their 52-week highs.

Gokaldas Exports is capitalizing on the China plus one opportunity by expanding its capacities across existing and new facilities.

Going forward, the company's expansion plan is expected to drive its growth.
 

Why Infosys Share Price is Falling

Shares of Infosys dipped 5% today following a surprise cut in the company's growth guidance for the second time in a row.

While declaring its Q2 results, Infosys cut its full-year revenue growth guidance at the upper end, now forecasting growth in the range of 1-2.5%.

The cut was unexpected as the IT major had already reduced its growth guidance significantly in the previous quarter, pulling it down to 1-3.5%, down from the initial 4-7% forecast.

Keeping the negatives aside, India's second-largest IT services company announced a five-year extension of its joint venture (JV) collaboration with Temasek, a global investment firm that is headquartered in Singapore.

The extension underlines the shared objective of creating an impactful digital transformation and investing in digital talent in Singapore.

Infosys Compaz has collaborated with large corporations in Southeast Asia on their digital transformation journeys, leveraging deep technology expertise across cloud, data and analytics, cybersecurity, digital, artificial intelligence (AI), and automation, among others.
 

What Mutual Funds Bought in September 2023

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, and ICICI Bank remained among the top mutual fund buys for the second consecutive month in September 2023.

Mutual funds deployed a net of Rs 150 bn into these stocks during the two-month period (August-September).

Maruti, Zomato, ITC, and Tata Motors were the other stocks that saw continued buying interest.

On the other hand, Larsen & Toubro was the most sold stock in September, with funds offloading 9.6 million shares worth Rs 29 bn.

Note that data released by the AMFI showed that equity-oriented funds witnessed a slowdown in net inflows in September 2023 due to increased redemptions from smallcap and midcap schemes.

Equity funds witnessed net inflows of Rs 140.9 bn in September 2023, lower than Rs 204.6 bn in August 2023.

How the mutual fund buying and selling trend pans out in the month of October 2023 remains to be seen.

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