Market Wrap Oct 24: SENSEX down 344 pts, NIFTY50 dips below 25,800; metal stocks outperform; Cipla, HUL top losers

The Indian stock market ended lower on Friday, October 24, breaking a six-day rally, as losses in FMCG and banking stocks, coupled with continued foreign fund outflows, weighed on sentiment.

Metal stocks outperformed, buoyed by rising aluminium prices, while the Nifty Bank, which had touched an all-time high of 58,577.50 in the previous session, slipped below the 58,000 mark, declining 0.65% on profit booking.

With Friday’s close, the benchmark indices recorded their fourth consecutive week of gains, with the SENSEX and NIFTY50 each rising 0.3%, while the Nifty Bank remained flat. Broader markets also advanced, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 climbing 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.

According to exchange data, on Thursday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹1,165.94 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹3,893.73 crore on a net basis.

Globally, Asian stocks settled higher on Friday, with South Korea’s Kospi hitting a record high, as regional markets gained momentum following news that US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold talks next week.

Japan's Nikkei rose 1.26%, Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.13%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng also gained 0.78%, while South Korea's KOSPI rallied 2.44%. The Shanghai Composite closed 0.71% higher.

On Wall Street, the US benchmark indices closed positive on Thursday, driven by gains in technology shares, amid a mixed set of corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 144.20 points, or 0.31%, to end at 46,734.61, while the S&P 500 rose 39.03 points, or 0.58%, to close at 6,738.43. The Nasdaq Composite settled 201.40 points, or 0.89%, higher at 22,941.80.

Here are the key developments of Friday's session that you need to know

As many as 3,179 stocks traded on the NSE on Friday. Out of this, 1,235 advanced and 1,850 stocks declined, while 94 scrips remained unchanged.

This indicated that the market breadth was in favour of declines.

A total of 60 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 39 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 67 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 49 touched their lower circuit bands on Friday.

NSE-listed firms' market capitalisation stood at ₹466.40 lakh crore at the end of the session.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, stood at 11.59 levels, falling 1.21%.

Among sectors, except for Nifty Metal (1.03%), Nifty Oil and Gas (0.20%) and Nifty Realty (0.18%), all the other gauges ended in red.

Nifty Private Bank (-0.81%), Nifty FMCG (-0.75%), Nifty PSU Bank (-0.74%), Nifty Pharma (-0.55%) and Nifty Consumer Durables (-0.52%) were the biggest laggards.

Similarly, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index slipped 0.21% to 18,253.35, dragged by drops in Jindal Saw (-3.8%), Aegis Vopak Terminals (-3.35%), and MCX (-2.85%).

On the NIFTY50 index, 16 stocks advanced while 34 declined on Friday.

On the flip side, Hindalco Industries (4.11%), ICICI Bank (1.05%), Bharti Airtel (1%), Shriram Finance (0.97%) and ONGC (0.94%) were the biggest gainers on the 50-share index.