Markets slide for third session on weak earnings, FII outflows

Markets saw losses extend into a third straight session on Thursday, as the Nifty 50 slipped just below 24,750,with broad- based selling across sectors, except for IT stocks, which remained resilient. At close, the Sensex was down 494.75 points or 0.61 percent at 81,006.61, and the Nifty was down 221.45 points or 0.89 percent at 24,749.85.
Tech Mahindra, Infosys, L&T, Power Grid Corp and SBI were the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included Bajaj Auto, Shriram Finance, Hero MotoCorp, Nestle and M&M.
On the sectoral front, except Information Technology index (up 1 percent), all other sectoral indices ended in the red with auto, media and realty down 2-3 percent. The BSE midcap and smallcap indices shed more than 1 percent each.
Rupee Close:
On 17 Oct'24,the Indian rupee traded in a narrow range and settled for the day lower by 5 paise to 84.07  against the US dollar on Thursday, pressured by foreign fund outflows, a negative trend in domestic equities and broad strength of the American currency.
Forex traders reportedly stated rupee witnessed range-bound trade as weak domestic markets and a strong US dollar weighed on the domestic currency, while a decline in crude oil prices and contained geopolitical tensions cushioned the downside.
Trading Guide:
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services reportedly quoted as saying,the domestic market experienced significant losses driven by widespread selloffs across various sectors, notably auto, realty, consumer durables and finance. This downturn was attributed to weaker sales forecasts for the festive season, high NPAs and slow credit growth. Weak Q2 result is affecting the market sentiment. Conversely, the IT sector outperformed as a contrary bet and in-line Q2 results.Market experts have recommended five stocks to buy-CAMS, Siemens AG, DLF, EI Hotel, Titan Company.

(Business Correspondent)