Most Asian stocks dropped as investors weighed the market ramifications of a second Trump presidency, with its promise of steeper tariffs. The dollar edged higher after surging more than 1% on Wednesday.Benchmark equity gauges slipped in China, Australia and South Korea, and were mixed in Japan.US stocks rallied sharply to close at record highs on Wednesday after Republican Donald Trump won the 2024 US presidential election in a stunning comeback four years after being voted out of the White House.Here’s a table showing how US stocks performed on Wednesday:

Source: EquitymasterAt present, the BSE Sensex is trading 378 points lower and NSE Nifty is trading 125 points lower.Apollo Hospital, Tata Steel, TCS are among the top gainers today.Hindalco, Adani Enterprises and Bajaj Finservthe other hand are among the top losers today.Broader markets are trading marginally higher. The BSE Midcap index and the BSE Smallcap index are trading flat.Sectoral indices are trading mixed today with in metal sector and auto sector witnessing the most selling pressure. Meanwhile, stocks in the media sector and IT sector witnessing buying.The rupee is trading at Rs 84.26 against the US dollar.In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.3% lower at Rs 76,418 per 10 grams today.
 RITES Q2 ResultsState-run RITES reported results for the September quarter which were lower on all parameters when compared to the same quarter last year.Net profit for the quarter fell by 25% to Rs 825 m. RITES had reported a net profit of Rs 1.1 bn during the same period last year.Revenue for the quarter declined to Rs 5.4 bn, compared to Rs 5.8 bn during the same period last year, a drop of 7.1%.RITES’ Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) also fell 23% year-on-year to Rs 1.1 bn, compared to Rs 1.4 bn last year.EBITDA margin for the quarter narrowed to 19.7% from 23.6% last year.Additionally, RITES has declared its second interim dividend of financial year 2025 at Rs 1.75 per share. Record date for the same has been fixed as 15 November 2024.Management commentary on the order book picture going ahead will be a key monitor for RITES.The management also said that it expects to sustain EBITDA margin at levels of nearly 22%.
 Tata Steel Swings Back to ProfitTata Steel Ltd on Wednesday reported a net profit of Rs 8.3 bn in the quarter ended September 2024, compared with a loss of Rs 61.9 bn in last year quarter.Revenue from operations in the reporting period fell 3% year-on-year to Rs 539.1 bn.The company reported an EBITDA of Rs 61.4 bn during the July-September 2024 period while margins stood at Rs 11.4%.Total expenses during the second quarter reduced to Rs 523.3 bn. The same stood at Rs 558.5 bn in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.Tata Steel India business reported a revenue decline of 5% YoY to Rs 323.9 bn in the September quarter as against Rs 341.9 bn in the year-ago quarter.Revenue from the Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) business rose to Rs 13.5 bn in the quarter ended September 2024. It was Rs 12.8 bn in the last year quarter.The Board has also approved the appointment of Pramod Agrawal as an Additional Director (Non-Executive, Independent) effective 6 November and as an Independent Director for a term of 5 years.

Power Grid Shares in Focus
Shares of the state-owned Power Grid are likely to remain in focus today after the company on Wednesday announced a flat consolidated net profit of Rs 37.9 bn in the quarter ended September 2024, compared with Rs 37.8 bn in last year’s quarter.Meanwhile, the company’s revenue from operations was also flat at Rs 112.8 bn in the quarter under review as against Rs 112.7 bn in the same quarter a year ago.The board had also approved a payment of the first interim dividend of Rs 4.5 per equity share of Rs 10 each for the financial year 2024-25.Total expenses during the second quarter increased to Rs 73.1 bn. The same stood at Rs 69.8 bn in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.Meanwhile, the company’s EBITDA was down by 2.1% to Rs 97 bn against Rs 99.1 bn in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, while the margins declined by 1.9% to 86%.The company has also approved the proposal to sell, assign, transfer 26% residual equity shareholding in four associate companies — PowerGrid Kala Amb Transmission, PowerGrid Parli Transmission, PowerGrid Warora Transmission and POWERGRID Jabalpur Transmission to PowerGrid Infrastructure Investment Trust (PGInvIT).More By This Author:Sensex Today Rallies 901 Points; Nifty Above 24,450 Sensex Today Trades Higher; Nifty Above 23,300Sensex Today Rallies 694 points; Nifty Above 24,200