HDFC Bank, RIL drag benchmark indices; SENSEX falls 650 pts, NIFTY50 slips below 24,500

At 11:20 AM, the S&P BSE SENSEX was trading at 81,085.23 levels, down 663 points, or 0.81%. The broader NIFTY50 index of the NSE was trading at 24,456.15, down 212 points, or 0.86%. 

Out of 50 constituents of the NIFTY50 index, 8 advanced, and 42 declined. 

The top five gainers on the index were Cipla, Tata Motors, Wipro, Adani Ports, and Tech Mahindra. 

The top five losers were Shriram Finance, Grasim Industries, RIL, Bajaj Finserv, and Bharti Airtel. 

On the BSE SENSEX, Adani Ports was the biggest gainer - up 0.8%, followed by Bajaj Finance, and Tata Motors.

Buzzing Stocks

Vedanta shares were trading over 1% lower at ₹507.05 apiece on the BSE, a day after the mining major said its board has approved the fourth interim dividend of ₹8.5 per equity share for the financial year 2024-25, amounting to approximately ₹3,324 crore.

The fourth interim dividend will be paid to shareholders whose names appear on the company's register as of the record date of December 24, 2024, the company said.

Broader Market

The BSE MidCap index was trading at 48,188.90, up 62 points, or 0.13%, while the BSE SmallCap index was trading at 57,256.41, up 28.79 points, or 0.05%.

Sector Watch

Most sectoral indices were trading in the red. Realty stocks, once again, were trading with sharp gains. 

Last seen, the BSE REALTY index was trading at 8,825.29, up 108.33 points, or 1.24%.

Global Markets

On the global front, US stocks ended mostly higher in the overnight trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 110.21 points, or 0.25%, to 43,717.85; the S&P 500 rose 23.03 points, or 0.38%, to 6,074.12; and the Nasdaq Composite was up 247.17 points, or 1.24%, to 20,173.89.

Asian stocks edged higher, and the dollar held firm on Tuesday as traders braced for a slate of central bank meetings this week that is likely to see the US Federal Reserve deliver a rate cut and the Bank of Japan maintain the status quo for now.