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Informist, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Equity Alert: Mkts in Asia mixed; China mfg PMI falls for sixth month

MUMBAI--0830 IST--Indices in Asia were mixed in early trade Tuesday, with Japan's market in the red while South Korea and Australia remained flat. Markets in China gained after the country's official manufacturing activity contracted lesser than market estimates. Traders await Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy decision, due later in the day, where the central bank is expected to keep its cash rate steady at 3.6%, according to a poll by Reuters.

China's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 49.8, contracting for the sixth straight month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Reuters had expected the reading to be 49.6. A reading lesser than 50 indicates contraction in manufacturing activity. While still in contraction, the latest reading was the strongest since March, a CNBC report said. The RatingDog China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, compiled by S&P Global, rose to 51.2 in September from 50.5 last month, higher than 50.2 estimated by a Reuters poll. The blue-chip CSI 300 index was 0.1% higher.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.3%. Shares of China's Zijin Gold International rose as much 65% in their Hong Kong trading debut Tuesday after the company raised $3.2 billion in an initial public offering, the largest in the city for four years, a report by Reuters said. South Korea's Kospi index swung between gains and losses in early trade and was down marginally. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell marginally while the broader Topix index was largely flat. 

Traders braced for a likely US government shutdown. US Vice President J.D. Vance said the government appeared "headed to a shutdown" after little progress in budget talks between President Donald Trump and Democratic opponents, according to a Reuters report. 

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0827 IST:

(Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Indices may open slightly higher on positive global cues

MUMBAI--0800 IST--Benchmark indices are likely to open slighlty higher Tuesday and move in a range with a negative bias as high stock valuation may continue to push investors to book profits. Some volatility is expected as futures and options contracts are set to expire Tuesday on the National Stock Exchange, but indices may not see any major fall ahead of the outcome of the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Wednesday.

Benchmark indices have faced selling pressure in recent sessions with the Nifty 50 Monday ending lower for the seventh straight session. The index has lost over 3% in these sessions to end at 24634.90 points. GIFT Nifty futures indicate the index may open slightly higher. At 0742 IST, GIFT Nifty September contract was up only 0.3% from the Nifty 50's close on Monday and the October contract was up 0.8% from the Nifty 50's close.

Global cues were positive as most of the Asian markets gained and US indices ended slightly higher overnight. US indices ended higher Monday despite the US government under a threat of shutdown. The US Congress has not reached a consensus over spending measures with the deadline to reach an agreement Tuesday. 

Analysts quoted in a Reuters report said government shutdowns in the past has not affected companies' earnings and markets may only react if they see any signs of impact on growth. There is also a possiblity that Friday's jobs report in the US may be delayed due to government shutdown, Reuters reported.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem said he was open to further interest rate cuts but policymakers should be careful as inflation is still above the US central bank's target. "I do believe we need to tread cautiously because the room between now and the point where policy could become overly accommodative is limited," Musalem was quoted as saying in a report by Bloomberg.

Most of the Asian markets were also up with indices in Taiwan, China, South Korea, and Hong Kong rising. Taiwan was among the top gainers with the index up 1.4%. Indices in Japan were slightly lower with the Nikkei 225 down for the third straight session.

Domestic market participants now await the MPC meeting outcome, where the central bank is expected to keep the rates unchanged at 5.50%. Market will look at RBI's commentary on growth amid GST rate cuts and some analysts see a possiblity of the RBI revising their GDP projections higher. (Anshul Choudhary)

Equity Alert: US mkt ends higher Monday; traders shrug off govt shutdown fear

MUMBAI--0740 IST--US benchmark indices closed higher Monday, despite concerns of a government shutdown, as technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks saw sharp gains. The US Labor Department has said it will not release any data, including the September nonfarm payrolls data, due Friday, if a shutdown is unavoidable. Investors also focussed on comments by Federal Reserve officials for cues on US monetary policy going forward.

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack Monday said the Fed needed to maintain restrictive monetary policy to lower inflation. St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said he is open to further interest rate cuts but that the central bank must be cautious and keep rates high enough to continue to lean against inflation.

Government shutdowns have historically not impacted markets much, but sentiment could take a hit if any delays around the release of key economic data muddy the interest rate outlook for the Federal Reserve, a CNBC report said.

AI stocks, which had weighed on the US indices last week over demand concerns, closed higher Monday. Shares of chipmaker Nvidia rose over 2% and those of Advanced Micro Devices and Micron Technology rose over 1% and 4%, respectively. Shares of Electronic Arts were up 4.5% after the game publisher said it will be taken private in a $55 billion deal. "The AI capital expenditure story is showing no signs of slowdown. Moreover, other industries have also been benefiting from the tidal wave of AI infrastructure spend," Venu Krishna, head of US equity strategy at Barclays, was quoted as saying by CNBC. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%.

Among other stocks, Lam Research rose 2% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the rating on the chip-making equipment firm to 'buy' from 'hold.' Shares of AppLovin hit a fresh record high before closing higher by 6.3% after Morgan Stanley raised the target price on the stock to $750 from $480, a Reuters report said.

So far in September, the S&P 500 has risen 3.1% compared to August and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has advanced nearly 2%. The Nasdaq Composite index has advanced more than 5%.

Following are the closing levels of US indices Monday:

(Eshitva Prakash)

End

US$1 = INR 88.76

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Subhojit Sarkar

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

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