Indian stock indices closed lower for the second consecutive session on October 31, with the Nifty falling below the 24,200 mark amid selling pressure in the IT, FMCG and banking sectors. At the close of the trading day, the Sensex was down 553.12 points, or 0.69 percent, to end at 79,389.06. The Nifty closed down 135.50 points, or 0.56 percent, at 24,205.35.

Despite opening slightly positive in the face of mixed global signals, the market quickly turned negative and continued to lose ground throughout the day, eventually closing near its lowest point.

For the month of October, the BSE Sensex declined by 5.8 percent, while the Nifty50 fell by 6.2 percent.

Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, TCS, Infosys and Asian Paints were the biggest losers on the BSE Sensex. On the other hand, the biggest gainers were L&T, Power Grid, JSW Steel, Mahindra and Mahindra, as well as HDFC Bank.

In terms of sectoral performance, the IT index fell by almost 3 percent, the FMCG index by almost 1 percent and the banking index by 0.5 percent. Conversely, the pharmaceutical and media indices recorded gains of 1.5 percent each.

The BSE mid-cap index fell 0.3 percent, while the small-cap index saw a rise of 1.6 percent.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said: “Major benchmarks traded with slight declines while witnessing a broader sell-off in the technology sector due to weakness in US IT companies, this which has led domestic IT companies to be under the shadow of underperformance. Investors remain cautious due to weak domestic profits in the second quarter.

“However, the market expects the momentum to reverse in the second half due to a rebound in core sector data and government spending, which are likely to influence the Samvat 2081 investment strategy” , Nair added.

Meanwhile, Muhurat trading is scheduled to take place on Friday, November 1, 2024, with a one-hour trading session from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on both the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). ). This special session is believed to invite wealth, success and good fortune, which corresponds to the start of the Hindu New Year, Samvat 2081.

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