Sensex ends 490 points lower, Nifty slips below 24,750; 15 of 16 sectors end in red

Stock market news: Benchmark indices continue to fall for a third consecutive session led by losses across sectors amid weak quarterly results.

The 30-share S&P BSE Sensex closed 394.75 points lower at 81,006.61 while the broader NSE Nifty 50 index ended 221.45 points lower at 24,749.85.

“Nifty has broken its consolidation range and closed very near its critical support at 24700 levels. A close below the 24700 can open up room for the 24000 level. Although the ADX DI- line is sloping upside, the ADX average line is sloping down and the RSI on the daily chart is in the Over-sold region, indicating a halt in the fall or a small dead cat bounce in the index from its current support at 24700 levels. Options writer's data for this month's expiry showed increased call writing above 24800 levels and a short covering of 25000 puts, indicating weakness in the index,” said Dr. Praveen Dwarakanath, Vice President of Hedged.in.

“Banknifty broke its previous day's low, indicating weakness in the index. The RSI line is turning down with a cross of the RSI average line, also indicating momentum on the downside to continue. The ADX DI- line is sloping upside, indicating further fall from the present levels. Immediate support for the index is at 51000, a break of which can take it down to 50200 and then 49700 levels. Options writer's data showed increased writing in calls at 52000 levels and above, indicating weakness to continue in the index,” Dwarakanath added.

Among the 30 Sensex firms, Nestle stood out with a decline of over 3 per cent following its report of a 0.94 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 899.49 crore for the second quarter ending September 2024. The FMCG giant attributed this decline to weaker consumer demand for key brands and rising commodity prices. Other notable laggards included Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, Maruti, Axis Bank , and Tata Steel.

In contrast, a few stocks managed to post gains, with Tech Mahindra , Infosys , Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, and State Bank of India leading the way.

The market also faced pressure from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who offloaded equities worth Rs 3,435.94 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.

Internationally, Asian markets including Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong all closed lower, while European markets showed a modest increase during mid-session trading. In the United States, markets ended in positive territory on Wednesday. Additionally, the global oil benchmark, Brent crude, rose by 0.27 per cent to reach USD 74.42 a barrel.

This decline marks the second consecutive day of losses for the BSE benchmark, which fell by 318.76 points, or 0.39 per cent, to settle at 81,501.36 on Wednesday. The Nifty also experienced a drop of 86.05 points, or 0.34 per cent, closing at 24,971.30.