Sensex opens flat, Nifty at 24,400; Induslnd and ITC drop 10% and 2%

Sensex opens flat as Nifty hovers around 24,400; IndusInd Bank plunges 10% and ITC drops 2%, affecting market sentiment amid cautious investor activity.

Written by: Supriya Kadu

Edited by: Omkar Devadkar

Last Updated: October 25, 2024

Summary: The Indian stock market indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 rose slightly at the start of Friday but quickly lost their gains.

While they opened somewhat higher, Indian benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 lost their gains on Friday.

While the Nifty 50 was at 24,418, up 18.65 points, or 0.08 percent, the BSE Sensex was up 51.11 points, or 0.06 percent, at the opening bell.

Less than half of the 30 BSE Sensex constituents were trading in the red, with losses capped by IndusInd Bank, down 10%, then NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, and JSW Steel.

On the other hand, ITC, up 3.15%, led gains, followed by Axis Bank, Asian Paint, Hindustan Unilever, and HCLTech.

On the Nifty 50, 19 stocks were up, while the others were down. The biggest loss came from IndusInd Bank, which fell by 10 percent. Other declined stocks were NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, and JSW Steel.

With a 3.23 percent increase, ITC was the biggest gainer, followed by Asian Paint, Britannia Industries, Axis Bank, and HCLTech.

While the FMCG index had increased 1.45%, the Nifty Bank, Auto, Metal, Realty, Consumer Durables, and Oil & Gas indexes were among those trading lower across sectors. PSU Bank, Healthcare, Pharma, and Financial Services were all doing well.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 was slightly higher by 0.04 percent, while the Nifty Midcap 100 was down 0.29 percent in the overall markets.

Aside from that, investors were anticipating Japan's general election over the weekend, which kept markets in the Asia-Pacific area mainly higher on Friday.

On pace for a sixth consecutive day of losses, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.67 percent and the Topix was down 0.70 percent.

The small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.75 percent, while South Korea's Kospi was up 0.45 percent.