Indian equity benchmarks advanced for second session in a row and settled with gains of over a percent on Tuesday, led by strong buying interest in banking, finance and metal shares. The benchmarks opened higher and traded in fine fettle, as sentiments got a boost with think-tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) stated that its Business Confidence Index (BCI) rose 41.1 per cent in the July-September 2020 period. This assumes significance as the GDP slipped by a historic 23.9 per cent in the April-June 2020 quarter, on account of the lockdown imposed by the government to check the spread of coronavirus. Some support also came in as Finance Ministry released Rs 6,000 crore as the second tranche to 16 States and three Union territories under its special window to states for meeting the GST compensation cess shortfall. Sentiments remained optimistic in late afternoon session as reports stated that the Reserve Bank of India extended the deadline for banks to comply with new guidelines with respect to existing current accounts. Current accounts are widely used by businesses for their daily activities. A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document will be issued to address all the issues raised by banks regarding implementation of the guidelines for existing current account. Markets participants also took a note of SBI Research's report that higher duties will not promote competitive manufacturing but may lead to inefficiency. It noted that since the beginning of 2000, successive governments have been eyeing a quarter of the Gross domestic product (GDP) to come from manufacturing by 2025 but not much has moved in that direction. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 503.55 points or 1.27% to 40,261.13, while the CNX Nifty was up by 144.35 points or 1.24% to 11,813.50.

The US markets ended higher on Tuesday, adding to the gains posted in the previous session, as traders seemed to be hoping for a definitive outcome from today's presidential election. Democratic candidate Joe Biden holds a clear lead in national polls and is also leading in several key swing states in the race to defeat President Donald Trump. Traders seem optimistic that the results of the election will be known at the end of the night without the need for lawsuits and recounts. Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly raised questions about the legitimacy of mail-in ballots and has not committed to a peaceful transition of power. On the economic data front, new orders for US manufactured goods showed a significant increase in the month of September, according to a report released by the Commerce Department. The Commerce Department said factory orders jumped by 1.1 percent in September after rising by a revised 0.6 percent in August. Street had expected factory orders to surge up by 1.0 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. The report said orders for durable goods spiked by 1.9 percent, while orders for non-durable goods rose by 0.3 percent. Shipments of manufactured goods increased for the fifth consecutive month, rising by 0.3 percent in September following a matching uptick in August.

Crude oil futures ended higher on Tuesday on weaker dollar and hopes that OPEC and allies will likely postpone a plan to ease output cuts in January. The dollar's weakness was due largely to expectations that Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden might push for bigger US stimulus and take a freer approach to trade, if he manages to win the presidential election. The dollar's weakness, ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting that begins tomorrow, supported oil's uptick. Crude oil futures for December rose $0.85 or 2.3 percent to settle at $37.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. January Brent crude gained $0.85 or 2.2 percent to settle at $ 39.81 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended marginally higher against dollar on Tuesday, on selling of the American currency by exporters. Traders remained positive as National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has said its Business Confidence Index (BCI) rose 41.1 per cent in the July-September 2020 period. This assumes significance as the GDP slipped by a historic 23.9 per cent in the April-June 2020 quarter, on account of the lockdown imposed by the government to check the spread of coronavirus. The rupee also derived its strength from strong gains in the local equity markets as well as dollar's weakness against some currencies overseas. On the global front; caution prevailed on foreign exchange markets on Tuesday in the hours ahead of polls opening in the United States as investors braced for possible post-election disputes that could trigger a burst of volatility for the dollar. Finally, the rupee ended at 74.41, 1 paise stronger from its previous close of 74.42 on Monday.   

The FIIs as per Tuesday's data were net buyer in equity segment, while net seller in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 7099.12 crore against gross selling of Rs 6242.91 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 750.45 crore with gross sales of Rs 1105.88 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 49.91 crore against gross selling of Rs 55.88 crore.

The US markets ended higher on Tuesday as investors bet that one of the country's most divisive presidential races could end with a clear victory for Democratic nominee Joe Biden and a swift deal on more fiscal stimulus. Asian markets are trading mixed on Wednesday as results from the US Presidential election hinted at a close race with no clear winner yet in sight. Indian markets ended on a higher note on Tuesday supported by the gains in financials and as factory activity data signalled a recovery in demand after coronavirus-led disruptions. Today, the domestic indices are likely to make cautious start amid mixed cues from Asian peers. There will be some cautiousness with the government data showing that after recording positive growth in September, India's exports declined 5.4 percent to $24.82 billion in October on account of dip in shipments of petroleum products, gems and jewellery, leather, and engineering goods. Besides, trade deficit in October narrowed to $8.78 billion as against $11.76 billion, as imports also fell 11.56 percent to $33.6 billion during the month under review. Besides, India has reported 43,659 fresh Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. The total caseload now stands at 8,312,947. The country's death toll has mounted to 123,579. However, some support may come later in the day as terming elevated food prices a temporary phenomenon, Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj said it should be back to normal soon on the back of arrival of new crops and government measures for improving supply of essential commodities. Separately, he said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will soon announce the next set of stimulus package to boost the coronavirus-hit economy. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India is looking at diversifying its foreign exchange reserve investments amid the fall in global interest rates caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be some buzz in metal stocks with a private report that steel companies have increased prices by around Rs 1,250 a tonne effective November, bringing it closer to peak levels of 2018. OMCs stocks will be in focus as oil prices rose over 2 percent on Tuesday, advancing with other financial markets on U.S. Election Day although traders were bracing for volatility depending on the voting results and as surging coronavirus cases around the world fed worries about fuel demand. There will be lots of important earnings announcements too, to keep the markets in action.

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

• Wipro has launched dedicated Wipro AWS Business Group, a unit designed to help customers fast-track their cloud transformation journey on AWS. 
• TCS has partnered with B3i Services AG to design, develop and launch ecosystem innovations based on DLT for the insurance industry. 
• Bharti Airtel's subsidiary -- Nxtra Data has signed a MoU with the MIDC for setting up two new data centre campuses in the state. 
• HDFC and ERGO International AG's JV -- HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company has launched the AI tool IDEAS for motor claim settlements.