The BSE Sensex opened at 80,044.95, up from its previous close of 79,942.18, and is currently at 79,748.20, down by 193.98 points or 0.24 per cent as of 9.55 AM on October 31, 2024. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty started at 24,349.85, slightly above Friday’s close of 24,340.85, and currently stands at 24,284.00, down by 56.85 points or 0.23 per cent as of 9.55 AM, tracking weak global markets and concerns over continued foreign institutional selling, with technology stocks leading the decline in early trade.
“India’s underperformance is driven by lofty valuations, relentless FII selling and concerns over slowing earnings growth. In the near-term, this scenario is unlikely to change, reversing the trend decisively, even though mild pullbacks are possible,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Technology stocks faced significant selling pressure, with Tech Mahindra dropping 2.60 per cent, followed by TCS declining 1.99 per cent and Infosys falling 1.91 per cent. Retail major Trent shed 1.83 per cent, while HDFC Life Insurance was down 1.49 per cent in morning trade.
However, pharmaceutical companies showed strength with Cipla leading the gainers, surging 8.02 per cent. Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro jumped 5.91 per cent, while automaker Hero MotoCorp gained 0.87 per cent. Other pharma stocks Sun Pharma and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories advanced 0.79 per cent and 0.56 per cent respectively.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling spree, offloading equities worth ₹4,613 crore on October 30, while domestic institutional investors provided support by purchasing equities worth ₹4,518 crore.
The market sentiment was also impacted by the US GDP data, which showed the economy grew at a 2.8 per cent annualized rate in the third quarter, along with stronger-than-expected private payroll numbers.
“The market is currently experiencing range-bound activity; therefore, buying on dips and selling on highs would be an ideal strategy,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, adding that 24,250-24,200 would serve as key support zones for Nifty.
India’s eight core sectors showed signs of improvement, posting 2 per cent growth in September after contracting 1.6 per cent in August. However, the government’s fiscal deficit expanded to 29.4 per cent of the budgetary target in the first half of FY25.
The volatility index, India VIX, rose 6.85 per cent to 15.51, indicating increased uncertainty in the market. “A significant trend in the market is the strong stock-specific action. Better-than-expected results are responded with sharp moves up to 20 per cent a day while worse-than-expected results are met with around 15 per cent correction,” noted Vijayakumar.
Asian markets were trading lower, with investors awaiting the Bank of Japan’s rate decision. China’s official Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.1 in October from 49.8 in September, while the Non-Manufacturing PMI improved to 50.2.
Market analysts suggest that 24,500 remains a crucial resistance level for the Nifty. “The index needs to close and sustain above this to counter the current downtrend, with 24,750 as the next resistance level,” said Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst at Choice Broking.
