Stock Market LIVE Updates: FMCG, IT, Auto stocks weigh on muted Sensex, Nifty; PSU Bank up 1%

Indian equity benchmarks, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50, started the day with gains but later traded with little change in the stock market today.

Live Updates of Stock Market on Thursday, October 24, 2024: The Indian benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 showed minimal movement during trading on Thursday.

The BSE Sensex experienced a marginal decline of 16 points, equivalent to 0.02%, settling at 80,065 by 1 PM, whereas the Nifty 50 stood at 24,401, reflecting a decrease of 34 points or 0.14%.

Across the BSE Sensex, over fifty percent of the equities were in positive territory, driven by increases in Tata Motors (up by 1.14 percent), HDFC Bank, Adani Ports & SEZ, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Sun Pharma. On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever experienced the most significant decline (dropping by 4.18 percent), trailed by Nestle India, ITC, Maruti Suzuki India, and Bharti Airtel, limiting the overall losses.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, 32 were on an upward trend, spearheaded by HDFC Bank with a 1.18% increase. Other gainers included Trent, Hero MotoCorp, Cipla, and Tata Motors. Conversely, Hindalco Industries experienced the most significant decline at 5.54%, with SBI Life, Hindustan Unilever, Britannia Industries, and Nestle India also facing losses.

The FMCG index experienced a decrease of 1.55 percent, leading the pullback across various sectors. Following closely behind was the Metal index, which showed a decline of 1 percent. Conversely, the Consumer Durables index was in negative territory, while the remaining sectoral indices exhibited upward movement.

The real estate sector experienced the highest increase, with the Realty index surging by 1.26 percent. Additionally, financial indices, as well as Pharma and Healthcare sectors, showed upward trends in trading.

The Nifty Midcap 100 saw a slight increase of 0.19%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 surged by 0.51% in the overall market scenario.

On Thursday, domestic market investors will be monitoring the October month Flash manufacturing PMI dataset closely.

In the midst of a volatile trading session on Wednesday, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50, the key stock market indices in India, closed in the red zone. The BSE Sensex declined by 138.74 points, representing a 0.17% decrease, to finish at 80,081.98, whereas the Nifty 50 saw a drop of 36.60 points, or 0.15%, settling at 24,435.50.

In a market that was predominantly lackluster, IT stocks excelled, closing with the Nifty IT index posting a 2.38% increase.

On Wednesday, while Financial Services, FMCG, Media, Consumer Durables, and PSU Bank sectors closed positively, Auto, Pharma, Healthcare, and OMCs faced losses among other sectoral indices.

On Thursday morning, the Asia-Pacific markets displayed a mixed performance following the decrease in US stocks on Wall Street during the previous night.

The Kospi index in South Korea recorded a 0.37% decline following the announcement of the country’s third-quarter GDP growth of 0.1% quarter on quarter, falling short of Reuters’ anticipated 0.5% growth and continuing from a 0.2% contraction in the previous quarter.

The Kosdaq index for small-cap stocks experienced a 1.08% decrease. Contrarily, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose by 0.48%, and the Topix index showed a slight increase. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 also saw a rise of 0.14%.

The Shanghai Composite in mainland China experienced a 0.54 percent decrease, with the CSI300 also down by 0.56 percent. Additionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index saw a decline of 0.77 percent.

Amid subdued trading activities before the US election, global stocks experienced a slight decline on Wednesday, leading to a retreat in gold prices from their peak levels due to the strengthening of the US dollar.

Investors are reconsidering the necessary extent of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve following the latest US economic indicators indicating sustained economic growth and job creation.

The three primary indices on Wall Street ended in a downward trajectory due to declines in consumer discretionary, technology, and communication services equities.

The values of major stock indices experienced declines with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping by 0.96 percent to 42,514.95, the S&P 500 seeing a decrease of 0.92 percent to 5,797.42, and the Nasdaq Composite slipping by 1.60 percent to 18,276.65.

The global MSCI All-World index saw a decline of 0.79 percent, whereas the European STOXX 600 closed with a 0.30 percent decrease.

Betting platforms have indicated a rise in the odds of Republican contender Donald Trump prevailing over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Despite this, surveys suggest that the presidential race is still too close to predict a clear winner.

Investors have been closely monitoring the possibility of a renewed Trump administration, as his agenda encompasses tariffs, limitations on illegal immigration, and other strategies that are anticipated to drive inflation higher.

Gold prices pulled back following a surge to all-time highs, influenced in part by a stronger US dollar. The increased interest in gold as a safe-haven asset is fueled by concerns surrounding the US election and geopolitical unrest in the Middle East and Europe.

The value of bullion has surged by 33% this year, but recently experienced a slight dip of 1.19% to reach $2,715.62 per ounce. Concurrently, US gold futures also decreased by 0.1% to $2,741.50 per ounce, having previously reached an all-time high of $2,758.37 during the trading session.

The greenback gained 0.26%, pushing the dollar index to 104.37, reflecting its strength against a range of currencies.

Following a report indicating a higher-than-anticipated increase in US crude inventories alongside a recovery in refining operations, oil prices experienced a decline.

The settlement for Brent crude futures was $74.96 per barrel, marking a decrease of 1.42 percent, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at $70.77, down by 1.35 percent.