Bears put brakes on rally

Nifty50: 18,210 ▼ -57 (0.3%)
Sensex: 61,143 ▼ -206 (0.3%)

After starting on a firm note, markets gave up their initial gains and closed in the red. Out of the Nifty50 pack, 27 stocks closed in red.

Among the Nifty sectoral indices, PSU Bank (+2.0%) & IT (+0.9%) were the top gainers whereas Media (-2.0%) and  Metal (-1.5%) were the top losers.

For more updates on F&O, click here.

Here are the top stories of the day.

Paint stocks surge on price hike reports

Shares of Asian paints, India’s largest paint company, zoomed 6% intraday on the reports of a 7-10% price hike in the decorative paints segment. While announcing Q2 results last week, the company said that there would be price hikes going forward to offset the rising input costs and ease the pressure on profit margins. 

Another major company, Berger Paints (+0.5%) has also reportedly taken a high-single-digit price hike. The rub-off effect was also seen in relatively smaller players such as Indigo Paints(+0.6%) and Shalimar Paints (2.2%).

Maruti rises despite fall in profits

India’s biggest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki’s profit was down by 65% year-on-year to ₹475 crore in the September quarter. The profits were impacted due to unprecedented increase in the prices of commodities and lower capacity utilization owing to global chip shortage.  

Meanwhile, its revenues grew by 9% to ₹19,297 crore despite a 3% fall in sales volumes, due to benefits from price hikes. The company had over 2 lakh pending orders which it could not serve due to the chip shortage. Despite the fall in the profits, Maruti’s shares closed 0.7% indicating buying interest which partially could be due to falling commodity prices.

Nykaa IPO opens tomorrow

Nykaa, a popular online marketplace for beauty and personal care products, is all set to launch its ₹5,324 crore IPO. The price band of the issue is ₹1,085 to ₹1,125 per share. The public offer will be available for subscription till Monday, November 1. 

Incorporated in 2012, Nykaa was founded by former investment banker Falguni Nayar. It offers 4,000 beauty, personal care and fashion brands through its website, app and 80-odd stores. While the issue opens tomorrow, you can pre-apply for it on Upstox.

Closing bell

While the Nifty50 moved above yesterday’s high, it couldn’t sustain that level. Markets saw fresh selling pressure in the last hour of the trade. The Nifty metal index has corrected nearly 9%, from its recent highs. Steel prices are reportedly down 18% from their all-time highs on the back of weak global (mainly Chinese) demand. A weaker demand scenario, in general, is a concern and could have its impact on the markets.  

Good to know

What is an Index Fund?

It is a mutual fund that replicates or tracks the market indices. An index fund provides broad exposure to the markets and has a low expense ratio. The weightage of the stocks in the fund closely matches the weightage of the stocks in the index. It basically follows a passive style of investing. Click here to read about the HDFC Nifty Next 50 Index fund, which is currently open for subscription.

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