Markets add more losses in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets added more losses in late morning deals, which dragged both the Sensex and Nifty below their psychological 79,500 and 24,150 levels respectively. Meanwhile, the broader markets were facing the heat of selling; the BSE mid-cap index declined by 1.60 per cent and the small-cap index was down 1.12 per cent. Hectic selling in Indusind Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC and Adani Ports companies’ stocks dragged the markets to trade near low points of day. Sentiments remained weak due to persistent foreign outflows and lackluster earnings reports. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,062.45 crore on October 24, according to exchange data. Almost all sectoral indices on the BSE, except FMCG, were trading in red led by Consumer Durables, Auto, Capital Goods, Industrials and PSU.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as China’s central bank kept the interest rate on medium-term loans to banks unchanged at 2%. The People’s Bank of China issued 700 billion yuan ($98.36 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to financial institutions at 2%, to maintain sufficient amount of liquidity in the banking system. In the stock specific development, Dixon Technologies dropped as investors flocked to book profits after the company reported better-than-expected Q2FY25 results.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79486.95, down by 578.21 points or 0.72% after trading in a range of 79356.47 and 80253.19. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.60%, while Small cap index down by 2.12%.

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was FMCG up by 1.04%, while Consumer Durables down by 3.24%, Auto down by 2.84%, Capital Goods down by 2.81%, Industrials down by 2.67% and PSU down by 2.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 3.67%, Axis Bank up by 1.28%, Sun Pharma up by 1.11%, HCL up by 0.77% and Nestle up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 17.95%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 4.95%, Larsen & Toubro down by 3.60%, NTPC down by 3.01% and Adani Ports down by 2.40% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved two projects of Ministry of Railways with total estimated cost of Rs 6,798 crore (approximately). Two approved projects are doubling of Narkatiaganj-Raxaul-Sitamarhi-Darbhanga & Sitamarhi-Muzaffarpur Section covering 256 kms; and construction of new line between Errupalem and Namburu via Amaravati covering 57 kms to be completed in 5years. The projects will generate direct employment for about 106 lakh human-days.

The doubling of Narkatiaganj-Raxaul-Sitamarhi-Darbhanga & Sitamarhi-Muzaffarpur Section will strengthen the connectivity to Nepal, North-east India and Border areas and facilitating movement of passenger trains along with goods train resulting in the socio-economic growth of the region. The new rail line project Errupalem-Amaravati-Namburu traverses through NTR Vijayawada and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh and Khammam district of Telangana. The Two projects covering 8 Districts in 3 States i.e., Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 313 Kms. New Line project will provide connectivity to approximately 168 villages and about 12 lakh population with 9 new stations. Multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to Two Aspirational Districts (Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur) serving approximately 388 villages and about 9 lakh population.

These are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as agriculture products, fertilizer, coal, iron ore, steel, cement, etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 31 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). The Railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country, lower CO2 emissions (168 Crore Kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 7 Crore trees. The new line proposal will provide direct connectivity to ‘Amaravati’ the proposed Capital of Andhra Pradesh and improve mobility for industries and the population, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. The multi-tracking proposal will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much-required infrastructural development on the busiest sections across Indian Railways.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24147.35, down by 252.05 points or 1.03% after trading in a range of 24113.05 and 24440.25. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 3.58%, Axis Bank up by 1.47%, Sun Pharma up by 1.09%, HCL up by 0.83% and Britannia up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 17.77%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 5.09%, Trent down by 4.41%, Shriram Finance down by 3.93% and Adani Enterprises down by 3.92% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Jakarta Composite plunged 10.51 points or 0.14% to 7,706.04, Straits Times fell 18.14 points or 0.5% to 3,586.81, KOSPI dropped 1.53 points or 0.06% to 2,579.50 and Nikkei 225 slipped 305.36 points or 0.8% to 37,837.93. However, Hang Seng advanced 127.67 points or 0.62% to 20,617.29, Shanghai Composite strengthened 17.59 points or 0.54% to 3,297.85 and Taiwan Weighted added 152.94 points or 0.66% to 23,345.46.