Stock Market Update: Early Losses Narrow as Buying Picks Up in Metals; NIFTY50 Tests 24,000
On Tuesday, November 5, the Indian equity benchmark indices opened on a weak note but saw some buying activity in metals and commodity sectors, helping offset early losses. At the forefront was the BSE Metal Index, up by 0.71% at 31,186.98.
Market Snapshot By 09:22 AM, the S&P BSE SENSEX was trading slightly lower, down 43.32 points (0.05%) at 78,738.92. Meanwhile, the NIFTY50 index hovered near the 24,000 mark, down just 6 points (0.03%) at 23,989.25.
Among the SENSEX components, HDFC Bank was the top loser, shedding 1%, while JSW Steel led the gainers with a 2% increase. Over on the NSE, top gainers included JSW Steel, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, and HCL Tech. The biggest losers were BEL, Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, and Power Grid.
Buzzing Stocks Raymond shares climbed 4.5% to ₹1,762.30 on the BSE following its Q2 report, despite a 63% year-over-year drop in consolidated net profit to ₹59.01 crore. Revenue, however, rose significantly to ₹1,100.70 crore, up from ₹512.35 crore in the same period last year.
Hatsun Agro Products surged 13% to ₹1,200 after announcing a 17% decline in net profit, totaling ₹64.32 crore in Q2 compared to ₹77.57 crore in the year-ago period.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their selling trend, offloading ₹4,329 crore worth of Indian equities on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth ₹2,936 crore.
Broader Market & Sectoral Performance The broader markets traded mostly in the red, with the BSE MidCap index down 0.18% at 45,596.56 and the BSE SmallCap index down 0.03% at 54,690.86. Barring the metals and commodities sectors, most sectoral indices were trading flat or in negative territory, with the BSE Capital Goods index down 0.57%.
Global Markets Globally, markets held steady as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, while oil prices maintained gains. Brent crude stood at $75.08 a barrel after a 3% rise on Monday, driven by delays in planned production increases. In Asia, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares (excluding Japan) remained unchanged, while Japan’s Nikkei rebounded from a holiday with a 1.3% rise in morning trade.
