Sensex and Nifty Drop Amid F&O Expiry; Banking Shares Lead Decline - Read Now

The stock markets today witnessed sharp declines with a significant downfall in the indices of the Sensex and Nifty, driven up by monthly Futures & Options (F&O) expiry leading to an enhanced market volatility. As 2:30 PM IST, S&P BSE Sensex had plunged down by 596.06 points, or 0.75%, at Rs 79,339.11 and Nifty 50 was down by 155.05 points or 0.64%, at 24,185.45. The bearish trend in the market extended to banking shares, which recorded a second successive session of losses.

Banking Shares Top Market Losses
The Nifty Bank index declined 0.84 percent to 51,370.25 as it continues to be on a downslide with cumulative losses of 0.34 percent in the last two trading sessions. Key banking stocks also saw considerable selling and included DFC First Bank, which lost 3.11 percent, and Punjab National Bank, down by 2.69 percent. ICICI Bank, Canara Bank, and Axis Bank were some of the major banks, which lost more than 1 percent as selling pressure from the banking space saw due to F&O expiry-related volatility.

The overall market also reflected the trends of Sensex and Nifty since the S&P BSE Mid-Cap and Small-Cap indices also dipped by about 0.64% and 0.75% respectively. However, market breadth was positive where 2,457 stocks advanced against 1,380 that declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Muhurat Trading Session on 1 November
BSE and NSE, following the traditional Diwali practice, will facilitate Muhurat trading tomorrow on Friday between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM. However, during the day of the festival, the markets will be shut, though it is in this 'sacred hour, as it happens to convey good luck over to the future financial year.

Stock of Watch: Shilpa Medicare and Automotive Axles
The activities in the market today were dominated by a number of companies. Shilpa Medicare dropped 0.95% after US FDA inspection raised four observations against its Bengaluru facility. Observations for non-compliance at Unit-VI were a part of GMP inspection findings made by the US FDA.

Other major losers were Automotive Axles, whose stocks went down by 2.20 per cent following the company's statement on a 20.20 per cent decline in standalone net profit at ₹ 35.97 crore for Q2 2024. The revenue from operations dropped by 15.35 per cent year on year to ₹ 494.68 crore, depicting a weaker financial performance compared to the same period last year.

Market Number to Watch: Yields, Rupee, Commodities
India's 10-year benchmark yield rose higher at 6.953% that was marginally higher on the close of previous day. The rupee lost some ground to dollar to close at 84.0950. MCX Gold December contracts came down by 0.36% at ₹79,445 and Brent crude traded up marginally at $72.67 a barrel for November delivery.

Also Read: Diwali 2024: India’s Festive Shopping Boom with Top-Selling Items Revealed - Read Now