Mumbai: Indian stock markets opened flat on Diwali, with both major indices showing little movement as they struggled between buying and selling pressure. The Nifty index traded slightly lower at 24,326.75, down 0.06 percent in the morning session. Similarly, the BSE Sensex dipped to 79,859.62 points, a decline of 0.10 percent.
Experts highlighted that India needs both fiscal and monetary measures to stimulate economic growth. "Happy Diwali and Shubh Samvat 2081. We are going into Samvat 2081 with a consensus that markets will be challenged and will mean revert, leading to an underpowered year coming up. Predictions are at best intelligent guesstimates so we will refrain from that. What is clear is that some counter-cyclical measures are needed from India, both on the fiscal and monetary front, to tackle the issue of "not as sharp growth in aggregate demand," said Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert.
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He further added "The festival season is key to the annual consumption numbers and the combination of 35 lakh marriages and around Rs 4.5 lakh crores of private consumption expenditure is expected to provide some relief from a slowing growth trajectory".
Sector performance overview
On the National Stock Exchange, sectoral indices displayed a mixed performance. The Nifty Bank index saw a small gain, while Nifty Auto, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Media, and Nifty Metal faced challenges. The Nifty IT index experienced a notable drop of over 1.5 percent.
Cipla shares rose by more than 8 percent, making it the top gainer in the Nifty 50. Conversely, the IT sector struggled, with Infosys, TCS, and Tech Mahindra among the biggest losers.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to sell, offloading stocks worth Rs 4,613.65 crore on Wednesday. "Bulls need to hold the Tweezer bottom lows near 24,130 and then push the market above 24,500 to activate a bullish trigger. That could be a telling sign of a larger recovery given that the percentage of Nifty stocks trading above their respective 50-day moving averages fell to 14 per cent earlier this week - its lowest since the March 2023 lows - meaning that the market is oversold at least in the short-run," said Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research, Axis Securities.
In other Asian markets on Thursday, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell slightly by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose by 0.79 percent. South Korea's KOSPI index also decreased by 0.75 percent.
In the U.S. markets on Wednesday, the S&P 500 recorded a slight decline of 0.33 percent, and the Nasdaq dropped by 0.56 percent.
Agency
Published: 31 Oct 2024, 10:15 am IST
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