At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 774.84 points or 0.97% to 79,290.32. The Nifty 50 index dropped 299.40 points or 1.23% to 24,100.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.72% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 2.45%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 658 shares rose and 3,209 shares fell. A total of 84 shares were unchanged.
Gainers & Losers:
ITC (up 2.04%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.99%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.87%), Nestle India (up 0.62%) and Axis Bank (up 0.50%) were major Nifty gainers.
Indusind Bank (down 18.85%), Adani Enterprises (down 4.96%), Shriram Finance (down 4.92%), Mahindra and Mahindra (down 4.80%) and NTPC (down 3.91%) were major Nifty losers.
ITC added 2.04% after the diversified conglomerate’s net profit rose 3.07% to Rs 4,917.45 crore in Q2 FY25 as against Rs 4,926.96 crore posted in Q2 FY24.
Net revenue (excluding excise duty) was at Rs 19,150.32 crore in the September quarter FY25, up 16.81% from Rs 16,393.74 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.
IndusInd Bank tumbled 18.85% after the bank reported 39.24% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 1,325.45 crore in Q2 FY25 as against Rs 2,181.47 crore posted in Q2 FY24.
However, total income increased 9.91% year on year (YoY) to Rs 14,870.18 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2024.
Stocks in Spotlight:
RR Kabel slipped 3.19% after the company’s consolidated net profit declined 33.16% to Rs 49.52 crore in Q2 FY25 as against Rs 74.09 crore posted in Q2 FY24. Revenue from operations was at Rs 1,810.13 crore in second quarter of FY25, marking a growth of 12.45% as against Rs 1,609.67 crore in Q2 FY24.
Nippon Life India Asset Management added 1.52% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 47.33% to Rs 360.10 crore on 45.59% rise in total income to Rs 692.08 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q2 FY24.
Radico Khaitan added 1.33% after the company’s standalone net profit jumped 32.82% to Rs 82.19 crore on 20.68% increase in net sales to Rs 1,116.30 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q2 FY24.
Mahanagar Gas slipped 3.62% after the company reported 16.5% fall in standalone net profit to Rs 282.8 crore despite a 9% rise in net revenue from operations to Rs 1,711.62 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q2 FY24.
Global Markets:
European stock traded on lower as rounding off a largely negative week for global stocks as third-quarter earnings season has ramped up.
Most Asian stocks advanced on Friday as investors looking ahead for Japan’s general election over the weekend.
Japan also released its October inflation numbers for the capital city of Tokyo on Friday, its last key economic data before the election. The Bank of Japan’s 2-day monetary policy meeting will start on Oct. 30.
Tokyo’s headline inflation rate fell to 1.8% in October from 2.2% the month before, with core inflation — which strips out prices of fresh food — also coming in at 1.8%, down from 2%.
Japanese shares declined in anticipation of a hotly contested general election this Sunday. Concerns about potential currency market intervention by the Japanese government, as the yen approached three-month lows, also weighed on sentiment.
Soft inflation data further pressured the yen. The October headline Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.8% year-over-year (YoY), compared to 2.2% in the previous month, according to the Statistics Bureau of Japan.
U.S. equities were mixed on Thursday as investors prepared for a series of major tech earnings reports. Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, with Israel threatening a strike against Iran, also dampened risk appetite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.33%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.21%, and the NASDAQ Composite gained 0.76%.
Tesla led the broader market index, surging nearly 22% after reporting third-quarter results that exceeded expectations. This marked its best day since 2013. Whirlpool and UPS also climbed after posting strong results.
IBM dragged down the Dow, falling over 6% as its consulting revenue narrowly missed estimates. Boeing slipped 1.2% after its machinists rejected a new labor contract.