Mid-day Mood | Nifty, Sensex plunge further; all sectors, broader markets trade with sharp cuts

Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, and Sun Pharma are the top losers on the Nifty 50 index.

The Sensex and Nifty 50 plunged further into the red during the afternoon session as the intense selling pressure across the index heavyweights, broader markets, and sectoral indices dampened investor sentiment.

At 11:44 am, the Sensex was down 1,316.41 points or 1.65 percent at 78,407.71, and the Nifty was down 436.00 points or 1.79 percent at 23,868.30. About 843 shares advanced, 2651 shares declined, and 95 shares unchanged.

The markets are trading with volatility, as fear gauge India VIX spiked over eight percent to levels of 17.19. The upcoming US elections, China stimulus plans, along with the Federal Reserve policy meeting later this week are weighing on the market mood.

On the domestic front, heavy selling by foreign institutional investors and a tepid earnings season is also pressuring equities. According to experts, volatility is expected to dominate in the coming days.

Sectoral Trend

All sectoral indices traded with losses of over a percent or more. The Nifty Realty, Nifty Metal, Nifty Media and Nifty Oil & Gas indices were the worst hit, falling over 2.5 percent each as investors fled their holdings.

Fundamental View

"The Indian market is facing headwinds from decelerating earnings growth. Nifty EPS growth as indicated by Q2 results may dip below 10% in FY25 which will render the present valuations of about 24 times estimated FY25 earnings, difficult to sustain. FIIs may continue to sell in this difficult earnings growth environment, constraining any rally in the market. Remaining invested in fairly valued largecaps is the safe option for investors in this tough situation," noted V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Technical View

"Even though 24,150 stepped in multiple times last week to avoid collapse attempts, the swings higher thereof clearly lacked momentum. This is because, the 24,470-540 region that kept a lid on upsides last week, has 24,660-770 obstacles in close proximity," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

"While we expect these levels to be challenged this week, broader trend now requires multiple days of close above 25,100 in order to fully abandon the sell-on-rallies approach that continues to be the dominant theme. Alternatively, inability to float above 24,470 or a direct fall back below 24,150, will expose 23,900-23,300," he added.

Key Nifty Gainers

Cipla, Tech Mahindra, M&M

Key Nifty Losers

Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma

Key Sensex Gainers

Tech Mahindra, M&M

Key Sensex Losers

Adani Ports, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma

Stock Moves

Sun Pharma: Shares slumped as much as 5 percent on November 4 after a recent ruling by the US District Court of New Jersey granted a preliminary injunction in a patent dispute case against the drugmaker's hair loss drug, Leqselvi.

NCC: Shares edged a little higher after the PSU informed that it has bagged multiple contracts amounting to Rs 3,496 crore in October 2024. All the contracts were from central and state government agencies and private companies, the company said, adding that these projects span across the Building, Electrical, and Water divisions.

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