Top gainers and losers: Cipla, HDFC Life, Shriram Finance major drags as NIFTY, SENSEX snap two-day winning run

Key stock indices SENSEX and NIFTY cut short two-day winning runs on Wednesday, October 30, to close lower by half a percent each due to profit-taking in banking and IT shares.

The 50-issue NIFTY declined 126 points, or 0.51%, to settle at 24,340.85. As many as 31 NIFTY stocks ended with losses and 19 with gains. The barometer opened lower and stayed in the negative in the first half. The index traded in positive briefly and hit a high of 24,498.2 in the afternoon session but persistent selling dragged it to an intraday low of 24,307.3.

The 30-share SENSEX closed lower by 426.85 points, or 0.53%, at 79,942.18. As many as 19 SENSEX constituents closed lower. The index moved between a high of 80,435.61 and a low of 79,821.99 during the day.

Broader markets were mixed as smallcap gained up to 1% while midcap indices closed on a mixed note.

Consumer durables, pharma, banking and financial sector shares dropped while media and FMCG shares advanced. Losses in Infosys, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, M&M and Trent dragged the NIFTY down.

Stock markets since last week have closed lower in six of eight trading sessions. Unabated selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) is one of the primary reasons for the market fall. Heightened geopolitical tensions and attractive valuations of Chinese shares have also triggered selling by FIIs.

CIPLA, Shriram Finance major losers

Adani Enterprises, Hero MotoCorp lead gainers