Markets fall the most in the last four years as NIFTY50 slides over 6% in October; NIFTY smallcap jumps 1.2%

Indian equity markets ended in red for yet another day on Thursday amid monthly F&O expiry.. Broader market indices bucked the downward trend and closed with healthy gains on Thursday. The NIFTY smallcap closed 1.2% higher , while the NIFTY microcap 250 closed over 2% higher on Thursday.

Worst closing in four years

The benchmark indices witnessed the worst monthly closing after March 2020, with over 6.6% losses on the NIFTY50 and 5.8% on the SENSEX. On the contrary, the broader indices outperformed the benchmark indices, falling nearly 3.3% on the NIFTY smallcap 100 and NIFTY microcap 250 indices for October.

Sectorally, the NIFTY mid & small healthcare index remained the only gainer for the month with 1.2% gains in October. While Auto (-13%), NIFTY Oil & Gas (-13%) and NIFTY FMCG (-9.7%) were the top three losers for the month amongst others.

NIFTY IT top loser of the day

The IT sector’s stocks witnessed selling pressure as French IT consulting group Capgemini cut its 2024 revenue target for the second time this year on Wednesday, after continued weakness in some of its markets, especially manufacturing, hit its third-quarter sales.

Markets started negatively and extended their losses. In the afternoon session, indices continued to trade lower. In a cautious outlook for the upcoming fiscal year, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) projects a decline in inflation for FY25, yet it emphasises that immediate rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are unlikely. In the late afternoon session, indices remained in the red amid weak global cues.

The SENSEX ended at 79,389.06, down by 553.12 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 79,287.93 and 80,044.95. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The NIFTY50 ended at 24,205.35, down by 135.50 points or 0.56% after trading between 24,172.60 and 24,372.45. The index's 13 stocks advanced, while 37 stocks declined.

Top gainers & losers

Besides, investors avoided taking risks ahead of the long weekend. Traders will be looking forward to HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data, which is scheduled to be released on November 04.

Global markets

On the global front, European markets were trading lower as investors assessed the latest batch of earnings and awaited the closely watched preliminary eurozone inflation reading for clues to the European Central Bank's rate trajectory. The UK’s FTSE 100 fell by 60.98 points, or 0.75%, to 8,098.65, France’s CAC fell 61.56 points, or 0.84%, to 7,366.80, and Germany’s DAX was down by 97.53 points, or 0.51%, to 19,159.81.

Asian markets ended mostly in red as investors reacted to mixed earnings from U.S. technology companies and signals from the Bank of Japan that further rate rises were still on the horizon.