Stock Market Today: Nifty, Sensex Fall For Third Straight Session To Close At Two Month Lows

The S&P 500 futures down 0.18% at 5,881.75, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average future fell 0.40% to 42,996.00 as of 3:29 p.m. The Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.28% to 20,484.00 as of 3:30 p.m.

• UK: MPC Member Breeden Speaks

• US: FOMC Member Bowman Speaks

• Europe: ECB President Lagarde Speaks

• Europe: Consumer Confidence

• US: Existing Home Sales

• US: Crude Oil Inventories

• US: FOMC Member Barkin Speaks

Benchmark equity indices fell for a third consecutive session to end at their lowest level since August 14 again amid quarterly earnings releases.

The indices saw a volatile session as they gained as much as 0.5% intraday and fell as much as 0.4% as well to finally close a little lower. Nifty ended 0.16% or 37.95 points down at 24434.15 and Sensex closed 0.17% or 138.74 points lower at 80081.98.

"As indicated yesterday, Nifty50 took the support at the zone of 24,370-24,430 and it will continue to serve as a support zone while on the higher, 24,670 will be considered as immediate resistance," said Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares.

Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and Axis Bank Ltd. pulled the index lower.

While those of HDFC Bank Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., and HCL Tech Ltd. cushioned the fall.

Sectoral indices were mixed at close; Nifty IT rose the most and Nifty Pharma was top loser.

Market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers. Around 2,187 stocks advanced, 1,743 stocks declined, and 101 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.

Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended 0.48% and 0.93% higher, respectively.

On BSE, 12 sectors declined, and eight advanced out of 20. The BSE Power declined the most, and the BSE IT rose the most.

• Nifty and Sensex end lower for a third consecutive session

• Both Nifty and Sensex recorded their lowest closing since August 14

• Nifty ends 0.16% or 37.95 points down at 24434.15

• Sensex ends 0.17% or 138.74 points lower at 80081.98

• Intraday, both the indices had risen around 0.5%

• Broader indices outperformed; Nifty Midcap 100 ended 0.5% up and Nifty Smallcap 250 closed 0.99% higher

• Sectoral indices were mixed at close; Nifty IT rose the most and Nifty Pharma was top loser

• Bajaj Finance and Tech Mahindra were top Nifty gainers

• M&M and Sun Pharma fell the most

Heritage Foods consolidated net profit for the September quarter rose to Rs 48.6 crore from Rs 22.4 crore year ago quarter and revenue rose 4.2% to Rs 1,020 crore.

Most indices in Europe were lower in the early trade as investors assessed quarterly earnings with that of Deutsche Bank in focus. Pan European Stoxx 50 traded 0.4% lower as of 2:31 p.m., France's CAC fell 0.5%, and UK FTSE was 0.3% lower.

Most Asian indices were higher at close on Wednesday, except Nikkei, which fell 0.8% to close at 38,104.86 points. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained the most by 1.27% followed by South Korea's Kospi, which rose 1.12%, China's CSI 300 closed 0.4%, and Australia's ASX 200 was 0.1% up at close.

Craftsman Automation Q2 Highlights (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 3% at Rs 1,214 crore versus Rs 1,179 crore.

• Ebitda down 19% at Rs 193 crore versus Rs 238 crore.

• Ebitda margin at 15.9% versus 20.1%.

• Net profit down 41% at Rs 61.7 crore versus Rs 104.5 crore.

Heineken, in its quarterly business update, said India organic beer volume grew by a mid-single-digit and India business premium volume grew in thirties. It said premium volume growth in India was led by Heineken Silver, Kingfisher Ultra, and Kingfisher Ultra Max.

Bajaj Finserv's consolidated September quarter net profit grew 8% year-on-year at Rs 2,087 crore vs Rs 1,929 crore and total income grew 30% to Rs 33,704 crore.

• Revenue down 2.4% at Rs 397 crore vs Rs 407 crore

• EBITDA down 8.9% at Rs 87.4 crore vs Rs 95.9 crore

• Margin at 22% vs 23.6%

• Net Profit down 5% at Rs 57 crore vs Rs 60 crore

Deepak Builders & Engineers India Ltd. IPO has been subscribed 20.15 times so far on its third and final day on Wednesday. The issue received bids 4.12 times the offer on the first day and 9.93 times on day 2.

Allcargo Terminals has invested in Haryana Orbital Rail Corp to advance its Multi-Modal Logistics Park & Inland Container Depot Ambitions in North India, an exchange filing.

KPIT Tech Q2 Results (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Net Profit down 0.2% at Rs 204 crore vs Rs 204 crore

• Revenue up 7.8% At Rs 1,471 crore vs Rs 1,365 crore

• EBIT up 4.2% At Rs 246 crore vs Rs 236 crore

• EBIT Margin At 16.7% Vs 17.3%

Godrej Properties Q2 Results (Consolidated, YoY)

• Net Profit at Rs 334 crore vs Rs 73 crore

• Revenue at Rs 1,093 crore vs Rs 343 crore

• Ebitda at Rs 32 crore vs Ebitda loss of Rs 61.66 crore

Overall subscription at 13.04 times as of 12:12 p.m.

NII subscription at 40.23 times as of 12:12 p.m.

Retail subscription at 7.78 times as of 12:12 p.m.

QIB subscription at 2.43 times as of 12:12 p.m.

As the festive season approaches, gold and silver prices are reaching near high levels in India, driven by a combination of global events, economic uncertainty, and robust investor demand.

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According to Bloomberg, PMO advisor said that government will review scrapping windfall tax on crude and that oil ministry has sought removal of windfall tax in crude.

The food delivery giant Zomato Ltd. hiked its platform fee from Rs 6 per order to Rs 10 to keep it running amid festival season sales.

This hike comes three months after the Gurugram-based company increased its platform fee to Rs 6 from Rs 5 per order earlier. It was not clear if all cities it operates in has seen a hike in the platform fee.

Read more here.

Varun Beverages Ltd.'s share price experienced a 5% increase on Wednesday, as its margin expansion in the September quarter, coupled with strong international volume growth, prompted analysts to raise bullish calls.

The government lifted the duty on the export of parboiled rice and husked or brown rice. The export duty has been reduced from 10% to nil on parboiled rice (which is partially boiled with husk), husked (brown) rice and rice in the husk (paddy or rough), the Department of Revenue, an arm of the Ministry of Finance, notified on Tuesday.

Read more here.

Amber Enterprises India Ltd.'s share price rose nearly 10% on Wednesday as its revenue almost doubled, helping the company to report a net profit in the second quarter of the current financial year.

India's largest food delivery and quick commerce player, Zomato, posted a profit after tax of Rs 176 crore in its second quarter report card, led by other income of Rs 221 crore. A closer look shows that Zomato earned nearly Rs 400 crore from net gains from mutual funds, interest income from government securities, interest on debentures or bonds, and interest from bank deposits.

 Click here to find out more.

Shares of Persistent Systems Ltd. jumped 10% to hit the upper circuit, clocking the best session since nine months on Tuesday after its profit jumped 23% in the second quarter ended September 2024.

The IT services firm reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 324.9 crore for the July-September quarter, compared with Rs 263.2 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from operations for the quarter was Rs 2,897.1 crore, marking a 20% rise from Rs 2,411.6 crore in the previous year's September quarter.

The government is intensifying its scrutiny of expiry date violations, as it prepares to crack down on fast-moving consumer goods companies. This comes following a surge in consumer complaints over not displaying mandatory disclosures, including expiry dates, on products sold through their e-commerce websites, according to people aware of the matter.

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Dodla Dairy reported a 45% year-on-year increase in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September to Rs 63 crore and 30% increase in revenue to Rs 998 crore. Ebitda grew 37% on the year to Rs 96 crore and Ebitda margin was at Rs 9.6% compared to 9.1% in the same quarter year ago.

Board has declared first interim dividend of Rs 3 per share.

Max Financial Services Ltd. share price rose to life high on Wednesday as new business exhibited growth which offset the impact of a decline in net profit during July–September. The value of new business grew 23% to Rs 513 crore in the second quarter, the company said in an exchange filing on Tuesday.

Ambuja Cements Ltd.'s acquisition of Orient Cements Ltd. could accelerate consolidation in the industry and will help the Adani Group's cement arm to hit the 140 million tonnes annual capacity target by 2028, according to brokerages.

The stock fell to Rs 554.95, its lowest level since June 5 in the early trade but later recovered.

Nifty IT index snapped its three-day fall and rose nearly 1% after hitting its lowest level in two months at open. At open, the index fell 0.2% to hit its lowest since August 23 of 41,151.35 points.

All constituents of the index traded higher at 10:04 a.m.

Zomato Ltd. share price dropped over 5% in early trade on Wednesday after net profit fell in the second quarter of fiscal 2025 to miss analysts' estimates.

Net profit was down 30% at Rs 176 crore in the July-September period, while the Bloomberg estimate was Rs 245 crore. This compares to Rs 253 crore in the preceding quarter ended June 30.

Bajaj Finance's stock price jumped over 4% following the announcement of its quarterly earnings, marking a profit of Rs 4,014 crore for the second quarter—a 13% increase year-on-year. The results align closely with Bloomberg's estimates, which projected a profit of Rs 4,118 crore.

One 97 Communication, which operates Paytm name, will likely take the early road to profitability as cost optimisation efforts and gradual business recovery support, analysts said. They expressed the view after Paytm has reported marginal improvement in most of the business metrics in July–September, compared to first quarter.

Benchmark equity indices continued their downtrend for another session as shares of L&T, M&M and Reliance Industries dragged.

At pre-open, Nifty 50 was at 24378.15, down 0.38% or 93.95 points and Sensex was at 79920.83, down 0.37% or 299.89 points.

"Rising volatility, ongoing FII selling, and the high US bond yield remain significant concerns for the market," said Vikas Jain, head of research at Reliance Securities. "However, there are expectations for sector-specific actions."

According to Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares, "Some more corrections will offer good entry points to long-term investors to park their money in quality stocks whereas for traders, cautious is the word as a volatile session can be expected considering a weekly expiry."

Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., and Power Grid Corp. Of India Ltd. dragged the Nifty.

While those of Bajaj Finance Ltd., Infosys Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Bajaj Finserv Ltd., and Bajaj Auto Ltd. cushioned the fall.

Most sectoral indices were lower at open with Nifty Realty falling the most.

At pre-open, Nifty 50 was at 24378.15, down 0.38% or 93.95 points and Sensex was at 79920.83, down 0.37% or 299.89 points.

The yield on the 10-year bond opened flat at 6.82%.

It closed at 6.82% on Tuesday.

Source: Bloomberg

Rupee opened flat at 84.08 against the US dollar.

It closed at 84.07 on Tuesday.

Source: Bloomberg

Citi Research has maintained 'buy' on Indus Towers and assigned a target price of Rs 500, implying upside of 35%. It said that 2Q Ebitda was ahead of its estimates primarily driven by a further increase in recovery of past dues from Voda Idea. The company has now cumulatively recovered Rs23bn of its past dues from Voda Idea and should therefore be able to comfortably recover its balance dues over the next 3-4 quarters.

According to the brokerage, the recent stock correction has made risk/reward more attractive and significant improvement in visibility of Indus is now being able to entirely recover its past dues.

Citi Research has retained its 'buy' rating on Zomato and has raised the stock's target price to Rs 310, implying 21% upside. It said that it doesn’t expect significant escalation in discounts yet (from Blinkit). The brokerage has raised top-line estimates in quick commerce and estimates lower margin across food delivery and quick commerce.

Motilal Oswal reiterated 'buy' rating with target of Rs. 330, implying 28% upside. It noted that the viability of the “dark store model” is now beyond doubt and mature dark stores are already contribution margin positive. It said, Zomato should report PAT margin of 4.7%/8.6%/12.9% in FY25/FY26/FY27.

Nuvama has retained 'buy' but raised target to Rs 325 from Rs 285 earlier implying upside of 27%. The brokerage expects Blinkit dark store addition to be faster than initially expected and that profitability would be delayed due to higher upfront cost.

Morgan Stanley has retained 'overweight' on Bajaj Finance with target Rs 9,000, implying 35% upside as the brokerage said PAT was better than estimates and credit cost guidance change not a material negative. It also noted that funding and credit costs have peaked and new normal credit costs at 185-195 bps.

• Maintain Outperform with a target price Rs 600, which implied a 12% downside

• Paytm to onboard new UPI users on its app

• Very positive development

• Development allows platform to stem decline in monthly transacting users

• Could boost investor expectations of favorable outcomes on other regulatory decisions

December futures contract of WTI Crude were trading 2.17% higher at $72.09 a barrel as of 7:37 a.m. after the recent selloff as traders see a supply disruption in the Middle East due to Israel-Iran tensions as unlikely.

December contract of Brent Crude, however, was 0.37% lower at $75.76.

Most Asia–Pacific markets gained in early trade on Wednesday despite a subdued close on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei. however, erased early gains and traded flat as of 7:27 a.m., Australia's ASX and South Korea's Kospi were up 0.2% each, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded 0.5% up.

Indices on the Wall Street struggled in late hours after following news related to key companies and as traders factored in slower pace of Federal Reserve rate cuts. S&P 500 ended 0.05% down at 5,851.20, Dow Jones fell 0.02% to close at 42,924.89, and Nasdaq Composite was up 0.18% at 18,573.1.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at 24,537.00 down by 38 points, or 0.15%, as of 07:03 a.m. Among others, share prices of Zomato Ltd. and Bajaj Finance Ltd. are likely to react to their second quarter results while those of Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Reliance Industries Ltd. will react to the news flow.

On Tuesday, NSE Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex closed at the lowest level in over two months on Tuesday as the share price of heavyweights Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank Ltd. dragged. Broad-based weakness in US stocks and Asian and European shares due to concern about the pace of unwinding of monetary conditions in the US also seeped into the Indian markets.

The Nifty 50 ended 309 points or 1.25% down at 24,472.10, and the Sensex closed 930.55 or 1.15% down at 80,220.72, the lowest level since Aug 14.

Overseas investors remained net sellers of Indian equities for the 17th consecutive session on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors stayed net buyers for the 21st straight session. The FPIs offloaded stocks worth Rs 3,978.6 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 21,545.9 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

The Indian currency closed flat at 84.076 against the US dollar.