The S&P BSE Sensex dropped over 400 pts to trade below 84,600, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined over 100 pts to drop below 25,950 level in early trade.
On the 30-stock Sensex, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Power Grid, Tata Steel and Infosys led the declines, slipping between 1% and 2%.
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories dropped 4.5% to top the Nifty losers after receiving a notice of non-compliance from Canada’s Pharmaceutical Drugs Directorate for its Semaglutide injection, used in diabetes and weight management.
In contrast, PB Fintech, the parent of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, jumped 5% after reporting a 165% year-on-year surge in consolidated net profit for the September quarter.
Broader markets held firm, with both the small-cap and mid-cap indices up 0.2%.On Wednesday, the Sensex and Nifty had risen around 0.5% each, closing less than 1% shy of their all-time highs set in September 2024.Expert views
The Fed decision to cut rates by 25bp came as expected and, therefore, it didn’t impact the market even though there is no clarity on the future course of rate action, said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, adding that the market will now will focus more on the outcome of the Trump-Xi summit in South Korea.
“For our market, the remark by the CEA Anantha Nageswaran that he won’t be surprised if GDP growth touches 7% this year is a big positive. Leading indicators suggest a robust economy. This is reflected in the strength of the domestic consumption driven stocks. The massive orders received by L&T indicate a resumption of capex, which is good news for growth and earnings. The market structure indicates the potential for a mild rally and new record high soon, but not a runaway rally,” said Vijayakumar.
Global Markets
Asian stocks rose on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates and as U.S. and Chinese leaders met to discuss a trade deal.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.4%, while S&P 500 e-mini futures added 0.4% after Wall Street ended a four-day winning streak.
The Nikkei 225 swung between gains and losses before edging up 0.2% after the Bank of Japan left rates unchanged but reaffirmed its plan to keep tightening if growth stays on track.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield hovered near a three-week high at 4.07%, while gold inched up 0.1% to $3,932.08 an ounce.
FII/DII Tracker
On the institutional front, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net sellers, offloading equities worth a little over Rs 2,540 crore on October 29, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 5,693 crore.
Crude impact
Oil prices held steady in early Thursday trading, retaining most of the previous session’s gains as investors awaited U.S.-China trade talks for signs of easing tensions that have clouded the global growth outlook.
Brent crude futures slipped 0.05% to $64.89 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude edged down 0.18% to $60.37.
Rupee vs Dollar
The Indian rupee opened 0.2% lower at 88.4075 per U.S. dollar on Thursday, pressured by a rise in U.S. Treasury yields and a stronger greenback after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled that a December rate cut is not guaranteed.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, eased 0.1% to 99.09 after touching a two-week high.
(with inputs from agencies)