Closing Bell: Market can't break the fall, Nifty and Sensex down almost a percent each

Market Close | Sensex, Nifty down for the fifth consecutive session

Indian equity indices ended lower for the fifth consecutive session on October 4 with Nifty around 25,050. At close, the Sensex was down 808.65 points or 0.98 percent at 81,688.45, and the Nifty was down 200.30 points or 0.79 percent at 25,049.80.

We wrap up today's edition of the Moneycontrol live market blog, and will be back Monday morning with all the latest updates and alerts. Please visit https://www.moneycontrol.com/markets/global-indices for all the global market action.

Market This Week

#1 Market records biggest weekly fall since June 2022

#2 Market snaps 3-week gaining streak, nifty down nearly 5 percent

#3 BSE-listed companies erase market cap of nearly Rs 18 lakh crore this week

#4 All sectoral indices ex-nifty metal end lower, Nifty realty slips 8 percent

Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services

Domestic Equities continued their downward journey with Nifty breaching 25k in intra-day. The index finally settled near the day’s low with a loss of 200 points (-0.8%) at 25050 levels. Broader market too saw profit booking and was down 1%. Barring IT & PSU Bank, all sectors ended in red with Realty, FMCG, and Auto down 1-2%. A rise in the volatility index, selling by FIIs, and weak global cues led to profit booking in the market. Nifty shed 1310 points (-5.2%) after making a fresh high of 26277 last week.

We expect markets to consolidate next week amid cautiousness due to fear of increasing tensions in West Asia. With the start of the earning season next week, stock-specific action will continue. Also, the focus will remain on interest-sensitive stock amid the RBI policy meeting next week. Although rate cut is not on the table, commentary will hold great importance.

Geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran and a rise in foreign outflows have played a major role in the drop in Indian equities this week...Read More

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services

The bearish sentiment continued as investors are monitoring the escalating conflict in the Middle East and have adopted a sell-on recovery strategy. Crude prices have moved up sharply but may be restricted due to an increase in production from OPEC+. The drag was across sectors led by realty, auto, and FMCG except IT stocks, which gained due to expected benefits from US rate cuts and defensive nature. The pessimism on the market is expected to continue in the near term amidst rising crude prices and fund flows to cheaper markets like China

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking

Markets remained under pressure, extending their corrective phase with a loss of over a percent. After an initial decline, Nifty staged a strong recovery in the first half but sharp selling pressure in heavyweights pushed the index briefly below the 25,000 mark. All major sectors, except IT, succumbed to the pressure, with realty, auto, and FMCG among the top losers. Broader indices also weakened, shedding nearly a percent each.

The ongoing geopolitical tensions have driven crude prices higher, dampening hopes for a rate cut by the RBI in the upcoming policy meeting. Additionally, noticeable selling by foreign investors is adding to the market's strain. While there may be a pause or slight rebound after the recent slide, the overall bias will remain negative unless Nifty decisively reclaims the 25,600 level.

Key sectors such as IT, metal, and pharma are showing resilience, while others are facing selling pressure during rallies. Traders should adjust their positions accordingly and consider adopting a hedged approach.

Currency Check | Rupee closes flat

Indian rupee ended flat at 83.97 per dollar on Friday versus Thursday's close of 83.96.

Market Close | Nifty around 25,050, Sensex down 809 pts; auto, oil & gas, FMCG, realty worst hit

Indian equity indices ended lower for the fifth consecutive session on October 4 with Nifty around 25,050.

At close, the Sensex was down 808.65 points or 0.98 percent at 81,688.45, and the Nifty was down 200.30 points or 0.79 percent at 25,049.80. About 1522 shares advanced, 2266 shares declined, and 101 shares unchanged.

M&M, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India, BPCL, Asian Paints were among the top losers on the NSE, while gainers included Infosys, ONGC, Tata Motors, Wipro, HDFC Life.

Among sectors, except PSU Bank and IT, all other sectoral indices ended in the red with auto, FMCG, realty, power, media, telecom, oil & gas index down 1-2 percent.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices lost nearly a percent each.

Brokerage Call | Citi retains 'buy' rating on Bank Of Baroda, target at Rs 300

#1 Global advances growth ahead of estimates

#2 Deposits growth was strong & moderated by 1.6 percent QoQ

#3 Expect core NIM to broadly remain stable despite some pressure in overseas

#4 With contained slippages, credit cost is likely to settle at 50-60 bps

#5 Support from better recoveries will further boost earnings

Stock Market LIVE Updates | IDFC First Bank Q2 advances up 21%, deposits up 32%

#1 Total advances up 21.3 percent YoY at Rs 2.22 lakh crore versus Rs 1.83 lakh crore, YoY

#2 Total deposits up 32.2 percent YoY at Rs 2.18 lakh crore versus Rs 1.65 lakh crore, YoY

#3 CASA deposits 37.6 percent YoY at Rs 1.09 lakh crore

Brokerage Call | Morgan Stanely keeps 'overweight' call on Avenue Supermarts, target Rs 5,769

#1 Standalone Q2 revenue was lower than estimates

#2 Operational metrics improve but at a slower rate

#3 Growth trend surprised us negatively

#4 Await better clarity from management during upcoming Q2 results on slower growth rate

A Bloomberg index of hard currency emerging-market sovereign bonds has been flat this week, but Friday’s payrolls report could inject fresh momentum into dollar-denominated debt. ...Read More

Brokerage Call | Morgan Stanely keeps 'equal-weight' call on Bank Of Baroda, target at Rs 265

#1 Domestic loans grew by 6.5 percent QoQ led by non-retail loans

#2 Domestic retail was healthy

#3 Overseas book was up 7.5 percent after declining 1.3 percent last quarter

#4 Domestic deposits grew 4.1 percent

Brokerage Call | Nomura keeps 'neutral' call on Yes Bank, target at Rs 17

#1 Pre-Q2 update shows strong deposit growth led by CASA

#2 Expect company to deliver RoA of 0.5 percent/0.8 percent and RoE of 4.5 percent/7.5 percent in FY25/FY26

#3 Bank’s return profile, though on an improving trajectory, is significantly lower than peers’

#4 Further, company trades at 1.4x one-year-forward BVPS, which believe adequately captures positives

US stocks have stumbled in the first few days of October after rallying for five straight months, as investors assess geopolitical risks in the Middle East, global economic growth and interest rates. ...Read More

Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas

Indian Rupee traded nearly flat amid reports of RBI selling Dollars in the NDF markets which prevented the Rupee from hitting a new record low. However, weak domestic markets, strong Dollar and surge in crude oil prices weighed on the Rupee. FII outflows and disappointing macroeconomic data from India also pressurized the Rupee. FIIs have withdrawn nearly $3 billion from the domestic markets in the past three days. India’s services PMI fell to a 10-month low at 57.7 in September vs 60.9 in August and a forecast of 58.9.

We expect Rupee to trade with a negative bias on risk aversion in the global markets and a strong Dollar amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. FII outflows and elevated crude oil prices may further pressurise the Rupee. Traders may take cues from non-farm payrolls report from the US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.75 to Rs 84.20.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | PC Jeweller shares extend fall on third straight session

Brokerage Call | Morgan Stanley keeps 'overweight' call on Bajaj Finance, target Rs 9,000

#1 AUM grew 5.6 percent QoQ/28.8 percent YoY, above estimate

#2 Point of focus on Q2 call will be management’s confidence in asset quality improvement from Q3

#3 Commentary on future trajectory of credit costs will be important to watch

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Vakrangee shares down 10%; down foe 3rd day

Concerns over the escalating conflict in the Middle East have raised fears of potential disruptions to crude supplies from the top oil-producing region, pushing prices higher—a situation that impacts net importers like India....Read More

EU votes to impose tariffs of up to 45% on China-made EVs: Bloomberg  

Khamenei says the Islamic Republic's missile attacks on Israel was 'legal' and that Hamas attacking the Jewish nation on October 7 last year was also 'legitimate'....Read More

Sensex Today | TARC: Q2 pre-sales up 900% YoY at Rs1,012 crore

Sensex Today | Suzlon Energy falls for 7th day

Sensex Today | Uco Bank end Sep loans rise 2.6% QoQ, Deposits up 2.99%; CD Ratio at 71.99%

Sensex Today | Bharti Airtel down for fifth day, longest losing streak in one year

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Parsvnath Developers shares extend gains on 9th day

Sensex Today | ThyssenKrupp loses legal fight against EU Antitrust Veto of Tata Steel JV: Reuters

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Edelweiss Financial Services extends falls on third day

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Honasa Consumer shares fall post Dubai Court judgment

Dubai Court has rejected the grievances filed by RSM General Trading LLC and Honasa Consumer and ordered to attach assets of Honasa in UAE along with refusal to cancel the trading license of Honasa Consumer General Trading LLC.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Zee Media locked at lower circuit for the second consecutive session

Brokerage Call | Citi keeps 'sell' rating on Avenue Supermarts, target at Rs 3,350

#1 Q2 update highlighted 14.2 percent YoY revenue growth versus estimate of 19 percent

#2 Believe throughput continues to be impacted due to adverse product mix, store additions

#3 Store additions during the quarter were 6

#4 Remain cautious at current valuation given risks around store additions, earnings

Sensex Today | India Volatility index rise 7%

At the close of the June quarter, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) held 44.56 percent of HDFC Bank. ...Read More

Brokerage Call | Morgan Stanely keeps 'equal-weight' rating on M&M Financial, target at Rs 320

#1 Assumed higher growth in H2FY25; if disbursements don't pick up, there could be risks to outlook

#2 Think stock is likely to be weak in near-term

Brokerage Call | Nomura keeps 'neutral' rating on Bajaj Finance, target at Rs 7,500

#1 Q2 pre-quarter update shows broadly in-line numbers

#2 Key monitorable going into Q2 would be credit costs

#3 Any increase in FY25 credit cost guidance would be taken negatively by street & vice-versa

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Uflex arm to set up an aseptic packaging facility in Egypt

The company's step-down, wholly owned subsidiary, Flex Asepto (Egypt) S.A.E, has decided to set up an aseptic packaging facility in Egypt. This facility will meet the demand for aseptic packaging in Egypt, Europe, the Middle East, and East Africa. The company will invest $126 million.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Reliance Power to raises up to USD 500 million via FCCBs

The board has approved raising up to USD 500 million (Rs 4,200 crore) via unsecured, 10-year foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) on a private placement basis, with a 5% annual interest rate. The FCCBs will be issued to affiliates of Värde Investment Partners, LP. The board also approved an Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOS) for all eligible employees of the company.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Linde India starts commercial production at 250 metric tonnes per day Air Separation unit at Ludhiana, Punjab

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Wonderla Holidays approves to raise Rs 800 crore

The board of directors of the company  at its meeting approved the raising of funds by way of issuance of equity shares of the company having face value of Rs 10 each, for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 800 crores by way of private placement, qualified institutions placement, preferential issue or any other method or combination of methods in one or more tranches, subject to approval of shareholders of the company and such regulatory/statutory approvals as may be required.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | BSE discontinues weekly index derivatives contracts

The exchange announced that weekly index derivatives contracts on Sensex 50 and Bankex will be discontinued, effective November 14 and November 18, respectively. No new weekly contracts will be generated after the expiry of existing unexpired contracts, which will continue until their respective expiry dates.

Commodity Check | Brent Crude prices traded around USD 78

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Avenue Supermarts records standalone revenue of Rs 14,050.32 cr

The operator of DMart recorded standalone revenue of Rs 14,050.32 crore for the September 2024 quarter, growing 14.2% compared to Rs 12,307.72 crore in the corresponding period last year. The total number of stores stood at 377 as of September 2024.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | CESC arm enter into a binding term sheet with Bhojraj Renewables Energy

Purvah Green Power, a subsidiary of CESC, has entered into a binding term sheet with Bhojraj Renewables Energy (BREPT) for securing connectivity approval and land acquisition, including relevant permits and approvals, for a 300 MW wind project and a 150 MW solar project. The subsidiary will also acquire the entire shareholding of Bhojraj Renewables Energy from its shareholders for Rs 108.56 crore.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Syncom Formulations re-appoints Kedarmal Shankarlal Bankda as Executive Chairman

Shareholders approved the re-appointment of Kedarmal Shankarlal Bankda as the Executive Chairman/Whole-time Director and Vijay Shankarlal Bankda as the Managing Director of the company for two years, effective May 2, 2025, and November 29, 2024, respectively.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Orient Cement gets work order to install clinker grinding unit at MPPGCL’s Satpura Thermal Power Plant

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Garden Reach bags LoA for a project worth Rs 226.2 crore from West Bengal Transport Department

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Vikas EcoTech's CFO resigns

Amit Dhuria has resigned as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company, effective October 15, due to the reshuffling of resources within the Group.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | 1.56 million shares of Ashok Leyland traded in a block: Bloomberg

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Panache DigiLife enters into a manufacturing and supply agreement for advanced media gateway devices with a US-based brand

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Zurich District Court extends Steiner AG's provisional debt moratorium by four months

The Zurich District Court has extended Steiner AG's provisional debt moratorium by four months, until February 7, 2025. The court has also authorized Steiner AG to conclude the asset transfer agreement for all real estate development projects, including the transfer of assets from Steiner AG to Steiner Development AG, a wholly owned subsidiary of Steiner AG.

Steiner AG is a material Swiss subsidiary of HCC.

Brokerage Call | Jefferies keeps 'hold' rating on SBI Cards, target raises to Rs 795

#1 Company should benefit from easing short-term rates that should aid NIM in H2

#2 Spending growth stays weak in near-term

#3 Credit costs can rise in Q2 & stay elevated in near-term

#4 Card CIF growth can pick up as stress eases; corporate spending can improve slowly

#5 Profits & RoE can improve post FY25

#6 Near-term asset quality concerns will weigh on valuations

Stock Market LIVE Updates | 1.01 million shares of Nykaa traded in a block: Bloomberg

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Samhi Hotels board approves acquisition of Innmar Tourism and Hotels for Rs 205 crore

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Indoco Remedies gets final USFDA ANDA nod for Cetirizine Hydrochloride tablets

On the back of weak disbursement growth in H1FY25, Nomura feels it will be even more challenging for M&M Financial to achieve its previously guided target of low-teen growth in FY25....Read More

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Reliance Power snaps 15-day gaining streak; locked at lower circuit

US based investment management firm Blackstone is the promoter of R Systems, owning close to 52 percent stake in the company through its affiliate BCP Asia II Topco II Pte....Read More

Stock Market LIVE Updates | IOC signs B2B framework agreement with Nepal Oil Corporation

The oil retailer has signed a B2B Framework Agreement with Nepal Oil Corporation for major petroleum infrastructure development in Nepal.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | 1.09 million shares of PNB traded in another block: Bloomberg

Stock Market LIVE Updates | 1.01 million shares of Indus Towers traded in a block: Bloomberg

Brokerage Call | Morgan Stanley maintains 'overweight' call on M&M, target Rs 3,304

#1 With ROXX ramp up, Thar franchise could inch towards nearly 8,000-10,000 units/month

#2 Leverage gains should also help offset rising discounts in core portfolio

#3 Success of Thar will consolidate M&M's 3rd spot in India PV market

OMC shares lower, ONGC spurts over 2% as Brent tests $78 on risk to Iranian oil facilities

Brent crude prices touched the $78 per barrel mark in early trade on October 4, clocking its biggest one-day rise in almost a year after President Joe Biden told reporters the US was discussing whether to support potential Israeli strikes against Iranian oil facilities. READ MORE

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Ola Electric Mobility launches "BOSS - Biggest Ola Season Sale" campaign for festive season

The largest pure-play electric vehicle company launched its "BOSS - Biggest Ola Season Sale" campaign for the festive season. As part of the campaign, it announced entry-level pricing for its S1 portfolio at Rs 49,999. Additionally, it introduced festive benefits of up to Rs 40,000.