Closing Bell: Nifty below 25,000, Sensex down 230 pts; auto, bank drag, metals outshine

Indian equity indices ended on lower in the volatile session on October 11 with Nifty below 25,000. At close, the Sensex was down 230.05 points or 0.28 percent at 81,381.36, and the Nifty was down 34.20 points or 0.14 percent at 24,964.30.

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.

#1 Sensex & Nifty fall for 2nd straight week, down 0.3 percent each

#2 Midcaps outperform large caps with midcap index rising 1 percent

#3 Pharma & Auto gain the most amongst indices, up 2 percent each

#4 FMCG & auto stocks under pressure this week, indices down 2 percent each

The market traded sideways due to a lack of fresh triggers for decisive momentum. The uptick in US 10-year yield due to the unexpected rise in US core inflation and caution ahead of result season added layers of sentiment in the market.

The ongoing geopolitical challenges influenced FIIs to shift their focus towards the affordable markets, which is impacting the domestic market liquidity.

Investors traded with caution on the last trading day of the week as any escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict over the weekend could fuel uncertainty going into the next week.

Optimism could return once the earnings season picks up momentum and results are in line with expectations, else the mood could remain cautious with a negative bias in the near to medium term.

Nifty opened marginally in the red and consolidated within a narrow range to close in the red down ~24 points. The Nifty has been consolidating in the range of 25250 – 24900 since the last three trading sessions.

We expect this consolidation to breakout on the upside and rally towards 25350 – 25500 from short term perspective. A breach below 24800 shall weaken the structure and hence should be kept as a stoploss for the long positions.

Bank Nifty has been consolidating in the range of 50900 – 51500 since the last three trading sessions. We expect this consolidation to breakout on the upside and rally towards 52000 from short term perspective.

Markets traded lackluster on Friday and ended slightly lower amidst mixed cues. Early in the session, weak sentiment in IT major, TCS, after its earnings report impacted the mood, with further pressure from declines in private banking giants. However, selective buying in heavyweight stocks helped limit the decline as the day progressed. Sector-wise, the trend remained mixed—pharma and metal saw gains, while realty and banking finished in the red. Broader indices outperformed, gaining nearly half a percent each.

The market has been facing selling pressure on every rise, though resilience in key heavyweights, particularly in the IT, pharma, and metal sectors, has slowed the downward momentum.

We recommend maintaining a cautious stance on the Nifty until it decisively surpasses the 20-day exponential moving average (DEMA), which is currently around the 25,300 level. With opportunities on both sides, traders should prioritize careful stock selection and effective trade management.

Indian rupee slipped 10 paise to close at fresh record low at 84.07 per dollar on Friday versus Thursday's close of 83.97.

Indian equity indices ended on lower in the volatile session on October 11 with Nifty below 25,000.

At close, the Sensex was down 230.05 points or 0.28 percent at 81,381.36, and the Nifty was down 34.20 points or 0.14 percent at 24,964.30. About 2040 shares advanced, 1675 shares declined, and 119 shares unchanged.

Top losers on the Nifty included M&M, TCS, ICICI Bank, Cipla and Power Grid Corp, while gainers were Trent, Hindalco Industries, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and ONGC.

On the sectoral front, auto, bank, power, realty down 0.5 percent each, while IT, metal, oil & gas, pharma, media up -.5-1 percent.

The BSE midcap and smallcap indices rose 0.4 percent each.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) on Thursday posted a 36 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, 2024 to Rs 387.75 crore. It had reported a net profit of Rs 284.73 crore during the July-September period of preceding 2023-24 fiscal, the company said in an exchange filing.

In the June quarter, it reported net profit of Rs 383.69 crore. The total income from operations increased to Rs 1,630.38 crore in the reporting period from Rs 1176.96 crore a year ago.

The company’s NII was up 52 percent at Rs 546.8 crore against Rs 359 crore reported a year earlier.

#1 A rare miss - several knotty one-offs, but with silver linings in Q2

#2 Fear there is still a lack of a broad-based macro recovery

#3 Over H2, expect growth to broadly recover from financial solutions and tech

#4 BSNL contract unwind will help margin head back to traditional levels

#5 Would use any sharp correction to add

#1 Q2 results reflected a painfully slow demand recovery,

#2 Company alluded to some client-specific issues

#3 Revenue barely grew on a sequential basis, which led to a rare margin fall as well

#4 Find co best managed in sector & hence relative preference

The Sensex was down 222.75 points or 0.27 percent at 81,388.66, and the Nifty was down 41.90 points or 0.17 percent at 24,956.60. About 1792 shares advanced, 1596 shares declined, and 88 shares unchanged.

Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, Plastiblends India, Hathway Cable, Jagsonpal Finance, Jaypee Infratech, Atishay, PVV Infra, Universal Arts, and Sangam Finserv will release quarterly earnings on October 11.

Indian Rupee fell below the 84 per US Dollar mark for the first time on demand from foreign banks amid FII outflows and elevated crude oil prices. Weak domestic markets also weighed on the Rupee. However, overnight softening of US Dollar index prevented a sharp fall in the Rupee. Dollar fell on higher than expected weekly unemployment claims data from US which overshadowed a hotter-than-expected inflation. US inflation rose more 0.2% m-o-m vs forecast of 0.1% and core CPI rose 0.3% vs forecast of 0.2%. Annual inflation also rose more than forecast.

We expect Rupee to trade with a negative bias on selling pressure from FIIs and geopolitical uncertainty amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Overall strength in the US Dollar may further pressurise the Rupee. However, overall decline in crude oil prices may support the Rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from PPI and Michigan consumer sentiment data from the US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.90 to Rs 84.30.

Crude oil prices not able to sustain Thursday’s rally, which were driven on fear of escalation of geo-political risk in the middle eastern region which account for 25% of global oil production. WTI prices settled 3.6% up at $75.85 on Thursday but are down 0.9% on Friday to trade at $75.20 during mid European session. The inflation numbers were hotter than expected in US with core inflation sticking at 0.3% up m/m and 3.3% on y/y basis, and weekly jobless claims shoot up to 258K, due to hurricane Helen effect.

Outlook: We expect crude oil prices to remain buy market amid the expectation of fresh round of stimulus from China, and fear of a broader escalation of war in the gulf region, which is expected to keep oil prices hoovering towards resistance of $78-$80, but as OPEC is having spare capacity to deal with any war like situation we see prices will fizzle out soon as the demand still remains weak so rally would be unlikely to sustain in medium term. Support remain around $72.

Nymex WTI Nov : Support $72, Resistance :$78

MCX Crude Oct : Support Rs 6150 , Resistance Rs 6580.

Spot gold, after rising nearly 1% yesterday to settle at $2634, has extended its gains by 0.56% today. Yesterday's gains in gold came on stagflationary set of US data as jobless claims rose to a year-high level and CPI inflation data came in hotter than expected.  US CPI m-o-m came in at 0.2% (forecast 0.1%) whereas CPI y-o-y was noted at 2.4% (forecast 2.30%). Core CPI rose by 3.3%, fastest pace since June, and topped the estimate of 3.2% as core CPI m-o-m came in at 0.30% (forecast 0.20%).

Gold is benefitting on elevated geopolitical risks also with Israel's response to Iranian missile attack. Gold is expected to range trade in near term unless we see decisive developments on geopolitical or the US economic front. Support is at $2625/$2600. Resistance is at $2650/$2675/$2685.

Shares of Aurionpro Solutions Ltd jumped over 4 percent after the company announced it is launching its transaction banking platform in Saudi Arabia. A multi-million dollar deal with a prominent Saudi bank, the company in a regulatory filing said, "The bank has chosen Aurionpro's next-generation cash management and transaction banking platform, to deliver a seamless and contextual customer experience to its corporate clients."

The platform, iCashpro+, caters to both conventional and Shariah-compliant banking systems. According to the company, iCashpro+ was chosen for its robust functionality, top-tier performance, and future-proof design.

The Sensex was down 200.52 points or 0.25 percent at 81,410.89, and the Nifty was down 31.00 points or 0.12 percent at 24,967.50.

Ankur Sachdeva has resigned as Chief Revenue Officer of the company, effective December 8, to pursue other professional opportunities.

The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of Indian drug regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has provided a favourable recommendation for Wockhardt’s novel antibiotic MiqnafTM (nafithromycin) discovered and developed for the treatment of Community-Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia (CABP) in Adults.

#1 HDFC Life total premium up 9 percent, individual APE up 25 percent & total APE up 22.5 percent

#2 ICICI Prudential total premium up 21 percent, individual APE up 33 percent & total APE up 34 percent

#3 Max Financial total premium up 29 percent, individual APE up 38 percent, total APE up 38 percent

The Board of Oberoi Realty has approved the plan to raise up to Rs 6,000 crore via equity shares or other securities, in tranches of private placement, including the option of a qualified institutions placement, the company said on October 10.

The company has been awarded with a contract by National Institute of Biologicals, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for supply of manpower services of 129 resources on a contractual basis for the period of 3 years. The aggregate size of the contact is Rs 17,42,72,248.51 inclusive of all taxes.

#1 State polls including Maha, Bihar & Jharkhand are coming up where there might be disruptions

#2 Steep decline in disbursements/AUM Growth; asset quality also deteriorates

#3 Multiple headwinds ahead for MFI sector

#4 Asset quality issues are for medium-term driven by steep rise in PAR across buckets

#5 Due to rising NPAs, there will be interest income reversals

#6 Interest income reversals will lead to negative impact on Yield/NIM profile

The Board has appointed Avinash Ramnath Shetye as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company after the resignation of Biswanath Singha, effective October 9. The Board also appointed Somnath Nanda as Additional Executive Director, Swapnil Nitin Kasar as Additional Non-Executive Independent Director, and Manju Sanghamitra Nikale as Non-Executive Director of the company.

Starbigbloc Building Material Limited, a material subsidiary of Bigbloc Construction will install an 800 KW solar rooftop power project.

The public sector lender has kept the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate unchanged, effective October 12.

The NBFC has crossed the Rs 10,000 crore AUM milestone in the quarter ended September 2025, reaching over Rs 10,200 crore, up from Rs 2,970 crore in March 2022.

Shareholders have approved the voluntary liquidation of the company's subsidiary, Imperial Owners and Land Possessions. The liquidation is subject to applicable regulatory approvals. Imperial is not a material subsidiary of the company, and the liquidation of this subsidiary will have no material impact on the consolidated financials of the company.

The company has expanded its customer base by entering into a manufacturing agreement with Adidas India Marketing as a T-1 supplier.

#1 Q2 missed estimates with lower growth in north America & margin miss being key negatives

#2 Steady hiring and continued recovery in BFSI bodes were seen

#3 Ramp down of BSNL deal may provide scope to improve margin

#4 Cut estimates by 1-2 percent & expect 11 percent EPS CAGR over FY25-27

The Board of Directors of Federal Bank at its meeting held on October 10 decided to sell 59 lakh equity shares held in Equirus Capital Private Limited (ECPL), Associate Company of the bank.

The Bank had sold 11.50 lakh equity shares of ECPL earlier in the current financial year. With this sale, the Bank would be selling a total of 9.81 percent (i.e. 70.50 lakh shares) of the paidup equity share capital of ECPL on a fully diluted basis.

The Indian rupee dropped to a lifetime low against the US dollar on Friday, pressured by concerns over the recent jump in oil prices and the exodus of foreign money from the nation's equity markets.

The rupee dropped to 83.9900 to the dollar, inching past the previous lifetime low of 83.9850 hit on Sept. 12 and down from 83.9675 in the previous session. Rupee had recovered to near 83.50 little over two weeks ago. Oil prices have remained elevated amid concerns of a wider conflict in the Middle East and are up over 10% in October so far.

Shares of Bondada Engineering climbed 5 percent as much as on October 11 after the company bagged two orders, worth a cumulative total of Rs 1,132 crore. The company has secured two EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contracts under the MSKVY 2.0 scheme for the development of crystalline ground-mounted solar PV power plants across various districts of Maharashtra.

The first contract, worth Rs. 763.16 crore, involves the design, engineering, supply, erection, testing, and commissioning of the solar PV plant, along with three years of operation and maintenance on an EPC basis at a 33/11 kV capacity. The second contract, valued at Rs. 369.08 crore, focuses on a similar scope, excluding PV module supply, which will be provided by MAHAGENCO. Both contracts aim to solarise agricultural feeders in the state and include a three-year operation and maintenance period.

Just Dial, Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, Plastiblends India, Hathway Cable, Jagsonpal Finance, Jaypee Infratech, Atishay, PVV Infra, Universal Arts, and Sangam Finserv will release quarterly earnings on October 11.

Avenue Supermarts, Network18 Media & Investments, Narmada Macplast Drip Irrigation Systems, SPA Capital Services, and Trident Texofab will announce quarterly earnings scorecard on October 12.

#1 Q2 missed estimates with lower growth in north America & margin miss being key negatives

#2 Steady hiring and continued recovery in BFSI bodes were seen

#3 Ramp down of BSNL deal may provide scope to improve margin

#4 Cut estimates by 1-2 percent & expect 11 percent EPS CAGR over FY25-27

The company has been declared as the Lowest Bidder (L-1) for project worth Rs 918 crore.

#1 Q2 earnings saw modest miss at revenue, but significant miss at margin

#2 BSNL deal drives growth in Q2

#3 Pipeline near record-high levels, TCV moderates while being within the comfort band

#4 Margin contracts with higher third-party expenses

#5 1.6-2.4 percent cut in FY25-26 EPS