Sensex, Nifty set to open flat on foreign outflows, tepid earnings

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open flat on Monday, as investor sentiment remained tepid due to sustained foreign selling and lacklustre corporate quarterly earnings.

The Gift Nifty was trading at 24,222, as of 07:37 am, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open near Friday's close of 24,180.8.

The Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex posted losses for a fourth straight week on Friday, the longest such streak since August 2023.

The Nifty 50 has dropped 8 per cent from its record-high levels hit on September 27, weighed down by foreign outflows for the last 20 sessions, as investors direct funds to China on Beijing's stimulus measures and relatively cheaper valuations.

FPIs have offloaded $13.23 billion worth of shares in the previous 20 sessions, according to provisional data from the NSE , eying record monthly foreign outflows.

The Nifty index has lost 6.3 per cent so far in October, on course for its worst month since March 2020 when a COVID-19 lockdown spooked global markets.

Besides foreign selling, weak earnings have also hurt investor sentiment and added to the selling pressure, two analysts said.

Asian markets were subdued, as traders assessed the outcome of the Japan's national elections, in which the ruling coalition failed to acquire majority.

Wall Street equities were mixed on Friday, with analysts expecting volatility to rise due to uncertainty around the US presidential election on November 5.

Stocks To Watch

ICICI Bank : The country’s second largest private lender surpassed September-quarter profit view on healthy loan demand, even as lending margins shrink.

DLF: The teal estate developer posted higher second-quarter profit on sales of launched houses.

Torrent Pharma: The drugmaker missed second-quarter profit view as shutdown of an insulin manufacturing facility weighed.

Coal India: State-owned Coal India reported fall in net profit in September quarter.