MTNL, Kotak Bank, Sterlite Tech among buzzing stocks as SENSEX, NIFTY50 tumble over 1% in noon deals

The Indian benchmark indices, SENSEX and NIFTY50, continued their downward trend during the afternoon session on Thursday, October 1, as weak global cues, a weakening rupee and continued foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment.

The SENSEX tanked as much as 1.64% to hit an intraday low of 71,292.88. Meanwhile, the NIFTY50 crashed as much as 1.8% to reach the session’s low of 22,217.30.

At 2:09 PM, the S&P BSE SENSEX tumbled 1,029.90 points, or 1.42%, to trade at 71,450.39, while NSE’s NIFTY50 stood at 22,268.20, marking a 352.25-point, or 1.56% decline.

On Wednesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹10,148.41 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth ₹11,271.73 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.

Furthermore, the volatility gauge, India VIX, surged as much as 15% to an intraday high mark of the 15.49 level.

The top losers in the index included Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Shriram Finance, and Eicher Motors.

On the contrary, HDFC Life Insurance Company, HDFC Bank, SBI Life Insurance Company, Infosys, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top gainers.

Buzzing stocks on October 1: Check list

Auto stocks like Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki India, among several others, tumbled during the trading session on Thursday, October 1, dragging down the Nifty Auto index over 4% as investors reacted to the September 2026 sales data release.

Shares of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies such as ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Godrej Consumer Products, Dabur and Tata Consumer Products were witnessing selling pressure on Thursday.

FMCG shares are witnessing selling pressure due to concerns over weak consumption growth, rising input costs and margin pressures, as rising inflation has prompted investors to reassess earnings prospects and valuations of the FMCG sector.

Meanwhile, uncertainty over the pace of rural demand recovery and weakness in the broader equity market have further weighed on investor sentiment, analysts noted.

Shares of power and allied companies such as Power Grid Corporation of India, Adani Energy Solutions, GE Vernova T&D India, Hitachi Energy India, and CG Power and Industrial Solutions gained.

This comes after the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the ₹1.86 lakh crore PM-DHARA Scheme. The scheme aims to strengthen the intra-state transmission system and deploy 50 GWh of battery storage to help evacuate 135 GW of renewable energy.

The PM-DHARA scheme is essentially a major push to strengthen India’s power transmission network so that more renewable energy can be generated and moved to where it is needed. The ₹1.86 lakh crore scheme will support the expansion and upgrade of intra-state transmission infrastructure, helping states evacuate up to 135 GW of renewable power.

The stock of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) rallied by as much as 17.3% to hit an intraday high of ₹26.94 per equity share on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), as its board of directors approved the proposal for the sale and transfer of its property in Powai to the Income Tax Department.

According to a regulatory filing, the company will sell and transfer its property with a land area of 20,895.60 square meters (sqm) at Powai Plot-C, Technology Street, Powai, Mumbai – 400 076 to the Income Tax Department.

The transfer of the property will happen at a sale value of ₹891.53 crore through Government–to–Government (G2G) Transfer / Direct Sale, in accordance with the receipt of the Income Tax Department’s formal acceptance and based on Presidential Approval and Alternative Mechanism (AM) approval, as per the filing.

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank rallied as much as 4.5% to touch the session’s peak of ₹435.60 apiece on October 1, after the lender said that the RBI has approved the appointment of Anup Kumar Saha as the Bank’s Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (“MD & CEO”) for a period of three years, effective January 1, 2027.

The Board of Directors of the Bank will initiate further steps in due course to formalise the aforesaid appointment and also seek members’ approval for the same.

Saha is currently a Whole-time Director (Executive Director) of Kotak Mahindra Bank. He joined the Bank in January 2026 and, since March 2026, has overseen the Retail Bank, Data Analytics and Marketing functions.

The stock of Molbio Diagnostics jumped as much as 19.5% to hit an intraday high of ₹1,564.30 per equity share as HDFC Mutual Fund bought 23 lakh shares amounting to a 2% stake in the company, at an average price of ₹1,315 apiece for ₹302.45 crore through open market transactions on Wednesday.

The exchange data did not identify the other buyers.

Motilal Oswal Alternates sold a little over 2% stake in the company for ₹306 crore through open market transactions on Wednesday.

Business Excellence Trust III, a fund of Motilal Oswal Alternates, offloaded 23.28 lakh shares of Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics at an average price of ₹1,315.01 apiece, fetching ₹306.26 crore, according to BSE data.

Sterlite Technologies shares climbed as much as 5% to hit a 52-week high of ₹955.35 per unit as the company received a Long-Term Supply Agreement (LTSA) worth $1.2 billion from a hyperscale partner.

According to a regulatory filing, the agreement is for the supply of optical connectivity products as per customer specifications and will be valid up to December 2030.

Shares of A-One Steel started trading at ₹455 per unit on the NSE on Thursday, October 1. This reflects a premium of 12.35% over the IPO issue price of ₹405. On the BSE, the stock debuted at ₹462 per share, up 14.07% from the issue price.

A lot consists of 37 shares and costs ₹14,985. Investors who received the A-One Steels IPO allotment made ₹91,850 per lot, taking the value of their investment to ₹16,835, as per the listing price on the NSE.

The ₹405 crore IPO comprised a fresh issue of ₹355 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of ₹50 crore by promoters Sandeep Kumar, Krishnan Kumar Jalan and Sunil Jallan.

Shares of digital lending platform Moneyview made a strong debut on the stock exchanges on Thursday, October 1. The stock started trading at ₹55 per share on the NSE, reflecting a premium of 61.76% over the IPO issue price of ₹34 apiece. On the BSE, the scrip is listed at ₹55.61 per unit, up 63.56% from the issue price.

A lot consists of 441 shares and costs ₹14,994. Investors who received the Moneyview IPO allotment made ₹9,261 per lot, taking the value of their investment to ₹24,255, as per the listing price on the NSE.

The initial share sale was subscribed 98.46 times, as investors applied for 22,89,51,64,593 shares against 23,25,24,175 shares on offer, as per the NSE data.