Sensex, Nifty drop 1% amid widespread market selling

The Sensex and Nifty dropped by nearly 1 percent in the final hours of trading on Tuesday amid broad-based selling across all sectoral indices,led by oil & gas, auto, and metal stocks.Meanwhile, the Indian markets continue to struggle as weak earnings reports, constant selling by foreign investors, and global uncertainties from the Middle East conflict put pressure on investor confidence.
At close, the Sensex was down 930.55 points or 1.15 percent at 80,220.72, and the Nifty was down 309.00 points or 1.25 percent at 24,472.10. About 553 shares advanced, 3264 shares declined, and 72 shares unchanged.ICICI Bank, Nestle India, Infosys were the top gainers on the Nifty,while losers included Adani Enterprises, M&M, Bharat Electronics, Coal India, Tata Steel.
On the sectoral front,all the sectoral indices ended in the red with auto, capital goods, metal, power, realty, telecom, media and PSU bank were down 2-3 percent.BSE Midcap index shed 2.5 percent and Smallcap index declined 3.8 percent.
Rupee Close:
On 22 Oct'24,the Indian rupee stayed flat at 84.07 against the U.S. dollar in  on Tuesday as positive sentiment in domestic equity markets was negated by the unabated outflow of foreign funds.The local unit resisted the fall on the back of the retreating dollar and a downward movement in the crude oil prices, forex traders reportedly stated.
Trading Guide:
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services reportedly quoted as saying,bearish sentiment continued to dominate the domestic market today amid heightened volatility, with small and midcap stocks taking the biggest hit. The recent sharp rise in US bond yields signals diminished expectations for aggressive rate cuts by the US Fed, also affecting fund flows to EMs. In the short term, this bearish outlook may persist due to sluggish earnings growth trends.However, the RBI's latest bulletin upholds India's GDP growth forecast of 7.2% for FY25, suggesting that the Q2 slowdown is temporary, with festive season consumption expected to rebound and ease the pressure on earnings downgrades.
Market experts have recommended buying these four shares to buy- Suven Pharmaceuticals, Indigo Paints, Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services, and Torrent Pharmaceuticals.
 (Business Coreespondent)