Indian Stock Market Closes Lower as Sensex Drops 143 Points
The Indian stock market faced a downturn, with the Sensex falling by 143 points amid high oil prices and foreign selling.
Mumbai, October 21 (Daily Kiran) : The Indian stock market experienced a decline during Wednesday’s trading session. By the end of the day, the Sensex had fallen by 143.21 points, or 0.19 percent, closing at 73,709.69. The Nifty index also saw a drop, falling 77.60 points, or 0.34 percent, to finish at 22,811.35.
Midcap and small-cap stocks faced more selling pressure compared to large-cap stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 Index decreased by 922.10 points, or 1.58 percent, to settle at 57,565.85. Meanwhile, the Nifty Smallcap 100 Index dropped by 448.45 points, or 2.37 percent, closing at 18,487.30.
The market was particularly pressured by sectors such as defense, consumer durables, and metals. Notable losers included the Nifty India Defense, which fell by 2.49 percent, the Nifty Consumer Durables down by 1.86 percent, and the Nifty Metal index declining by 1.71 percent. Other sectors, including Nifty Manufacturing, Nifty Auto, Nifty Energy, Nifty Media, Nifty Realty, Nifty Financial Services, and Nifty PSU, also closed in the red. Only the Nifty IT and Nifty Services sectors managed to end the day with gains.
Among the gainers were stocks like HCL Tech, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, ITC, and ICICI Bank. Conversely, stocks such as Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Trent, Axis Bank, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, Indigo, Kotak Mahindra Bank, BEL, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Titan, SBI, M&M, HDFC Bank, and L&T were among the notable losers.
Market analysts noted that the initial gains in Indian stock markets could not be sustained, primarily due to rising crude oil prices and persistent selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Profit booking was evident in the auto, financial, metal, and realty sectors, raising concerns over inflation and margin pressures. However, the IT sector showed considerable strength due to promising earnings prospects and renewed investor interest.
Despite strong results from the second quarter and solid investments from domestic institutional investors providing some support, the market’s fragile nature and ongoing selling by foreign investors signal a need for caution. The future direction of the market will depend on corporate earnings, progress in trade talks, and the flow of foreign investment. Additionally, stability in crude oil prices, global yields, and currency fluctuations will be crucial for market steadiness.
