Sensex Drops 400 Pts To 80,000; Nifty Down At 24,350

Indian benchmark equity indices opened mixed and subdued on Thursday, influenced by mixed global cues. At the opening bell, the BSE Sensex was up by 112 points (0.14%) at 80,490, while the Nifty 50 was slightly down, falling by 50 points (0.2%) to 24,434.

On the Sensex, 18 out of 30 stocks were trading in the red. Key losers included ICICI Bank (down 0.68%), Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, and Nestle India. On the other hand, the gainers were led by Tata Steel, which rose 1.53%, followed by Tech Mahindra, TCS, HCLTech, and JSW Steel.

For the Nifty 50, 35 out of 50 stocks were in the red. Major decliners included Hindalco, which dropped 5.66%, along with Adani Enterprises, BEL, Power Grid Corp., and BPCL. Meanwhile, Apollo Hospital Enterprises saw the largest gain, up 5.55%, followed by Tata Steel, TCS, HCLTech, and Wipro.

Sector-wise, the Metal index was the biggest loser, down more than 1%. Other sectors showing losses included Nifty Bank, Financial Services, Auto, FMCG, Pharma, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Consumer Durables, and OMC. In contrast, the IT, Media, and Healthcare indices saw gains.

In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap 100 index was up slightly by 0.07%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell by 0.25%.

The market had previously gained strength after former US President Donald Trump secured a decisive victory in the highly contested 2024 presidential election against Vice President Kamala Harris, which was widely expected to be a close race. This result boosted market sentiment both in the US and India, with US markets closing at record highs and Indian markets posting gains for the second consecutive day.

However, as the election results receded into the background, investors’ focus is shifting to the upcoming Federal Reserve monetary policy rate decision, which is scheduled to be announced later today. In the pre-market, GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 24,449, more than 100 points lower than the Nifty futures’ previous close.

In addition to the market activity, the Business Standard BFSI Insight summit entered its second day, featuring a series of panel discussions and fireside chats with prominent experts and market leaders. Notable speakers included Anish Tawakley, Co-CIO Equity at ICICI Prudential MF, Mahendra Kumar Jajoo, CIO – Fixed Income at Mirae Asset Investment Managers, Prashant Jain, CIO at 3P Investment Managers, and Sunil Singhania, Founder of Abakkus Asset Management.