Indian shares opened flat on October 29 and slipped into negative territory soon after, following a brief rebound in the previous session, as market experts anticipate continued caution amid weak earnings and ongoing foreign selling.
At 9.50 AM, the Sensex was down 424 points or 0.5 percent at 79,580, and the Nifty was down 137 points or 0.6 percent at 24,201. About 1,684 shares advanced, 1,269 shares declined, and 112 shares remained unchanged.
"The market remains under pressure, driven by foreign institutional investor (FII) selling and weak earnings, although strong results from ICICI Bank and a few PSU banks could offer some stability as Diwali approaches," said Aishvarya Dadheech, Founder & CIO, Fident Asset Management. "Geopolitical risks have somewhat eased and crude oil overnight drop is a positive sign for India's inflation outlook. However, the dollar's strength continues to weigh on emerging market currencies and an elevated 10-year yield indicates a risk-off sentiment as funds shift back to developed economies."
In the 21 sessions of October, FIIs sold Indian equities worth Rs 1,03,470 crore, while DIIs purchased shares totalling Rs 98,492 crore.
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IT, telecom, and auto stocks led declines on the Nifty, while power stocks posted gains.
Nifty IT slipped 0.5 percent, weighed down by Infosys and Tech Mahindra, while the auto index dropped nearly 1 percent with M&M, Tata Motors, and Maruti Suzuki leading the losses.
Shriram Finance, Britannia, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, and HUL led the losses on Nifty 50, declining between 0.5-1 percent, while NTPC, ICICI Bank, Dr. Reddy's, Coal India, and SBI emerged as the top gainers, advancing 0.5-2 percent.
Bharti Airtel's shares dropped nearly 3 percent in early trade, making it the worst performer on the Nifty 50, despite reporting a strong September quarter driven by recent tariff hikes.
The broader market defied the benchmark trend, with both the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices rising 0.2 percent each.
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"Nifty could now rise to face resistance at 24,567, while the 24,073-24,135 band could offer support in the near term," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities. He said that sustaining this upmove in the coming days will be crucial to rekindling buying interest amongst investors.
Asian indices were mixed today, despite gains on Wall Street, where US indices rose overnight ahead of earnings reports from major tech-related companies. Oil prices eased to $71 per barrel after Israel's retaliatory strike against Iran over the weekend avoided oil and nuclear facilities.
Experts anticipate an increase in market volatility amid uncertainty surrounding the US presidential elections.
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