The Sensex and Nifty opened higher on October 21 fueled by gains in banking and IT stocks, following impressive September quarter earnings from HDFC Bank and Tech Mahindra. However, the indices soon gave up their morning gains.
At 9.5o AM, the Sensex was down 377 points or 0.5 percent at 80,847, and the Nifty was down 158 points or 0.6 percent at 24,695. About 1,143 shares advanced, 2,014 shares declined, and 125 shares were unchanged.
The Nifty and Sensex had a tough previous week, slipping 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, marking three straight weeks of losses. Chinese stimulus, persistent FII selling, and geopolitical tensions continue to pressure investor sentiment.
"Globally, no market is better than India in terms of growth and inflation control," said Sandip Agarwal, Fund Manager and Co-founder, Sowilo Investment Managers LLP. "The US is doing well but faces election risks and a high debt-to-GDP ratio, leaving uncertainty about the dollar's future. Japan shows almost no growth, and China has its own problems worsened by China Plus One. Europe is partly paralyzed due to the Middle Eastern crisis. India, though expensive, remains attractive, and historically, safe markets with good returns tend to trade at a premium. Though there may be immediate market reactions, I don't see high valuations as a risk."
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All 13 sectoral indices were in the red, led by steep declines in FMCG and auto indices, both dropping over 1 percent. Nifty FMCG extended its losing streak to a fourth consecutive session.
Kotak Mahindra Bank slid nearly 3 percent, weighed down by a sequential margin contraction and asset quality concerns in its Q2 FY25 results. Tata Consumer Products also faced the heat, with shares tumbling over 6 percent after a muted earnings report led analysts to cut their target price.
In contrast, HDFC Bank saw its shares soar nearly 3 percent to become the top gainer on the Nifty 50 after the bank surpassed analyst expectations with its net profit for the September quarter. Tech Mahindra followed closely, jumping 2.5 percent after reporting a robust 47 percent QoQ rise in net profit to Rs 1,250 crore, alongside a 2.4 percent revenue growth to Rs 13,313 crore.
Also Read | HDFC Bank Q2 results impresses Street, brokerages forecast up to 28% upside on falling CD ratio
On the Nifty 50, HDFC Life, Axis Bank, SBI Life, Tech Mahindra, and HDFC Bank emerged as the top gainers, rising between 1-3 percent. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp, Bharti Airtel, BPCL, Kotak Mahindra, and Tata Consumer Products saw declines, falling between 1-6 percent.
Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services expects Nifty 50 to face resistance near 24,950. "A push beyond this is desperately needed to sustain recovery," he said. James said that on the downside, key levels to watch are 24,770, with further support at 24,470 and 23,900.
In the Asia-Pacific region, markets showed mixed trends as traders reacted to China's loan prime rate announcement. In the US, the Dow and S&P 500 hit record highs on October 18, while the Nasdaq gained, driven by Netflix's earnings boost and broader tech stock gains.
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