Stock Market Today , October 23, 2024

Today’s stock market updates show that Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, and Wipro had the biggest gains on the Nifty. On the other hand, M&M, Power Grid Corp, Eicher Motors, NTPC, and BPCL were the biggest losers.  

Investor wealth, measured by the BSE market capitalization, dropped by Rs 8.98 lakh crore, going down to Rs 444.66 lakh crore from Rs 453.65 lakh crore in the previous session. Major companies like Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, SBI, L&T, TCS, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Maruti Suzuki were responsible for this decline today.   

On Tuesday, Indian stock markets fell sharply due to weakness in all sectors. The BSE Sensex dropped over 900 points, while the NSE Nifty fell below 24,500. By 3:10 PM, the Sensex was down 902 points, or 1.11%, at 80,249, and the Nifty was down 310 points, or 1.25%, at 24,471. This decline wiped out about Rs 8.9 lakh crore from the BSE's market capitalization.  

On Tuesday, the Nifty 50 and Sensex hit their lowest points in over two months, mainly because big companies like Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank saw their stock prices drop. Weakness in US, Asian, and European markets, due to worries about changes in US monetary policy, also affected Indian stocks.  

The Nifty 50 ended 309 points or 1.25% down at 24,472.10, and the Sensex closed 930.55 or 1.15% down at 80,220.72, the lowest level since Aug 14.  

Overseas investors remained net sellers of Indian equities for the 17th consecutive session on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors stayed net buyers for the 21st straight session. The FPIs offloaded stocks worth Rs 3,978.6 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 21,545.9 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.  

Here are the main reasons for today’s market drop:  

• Profit Booking  

"Investors are taking profits after a strong rise in the market recently. Concerns about a slowing economy in the near future are affecting investor confidence," said Kranthi Bathini, Director of Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities. He also mentioned that, in the long run, the Indian market is a good place to buy when prices dip.  

"When market valuations are very high, certain events can cause corrections, making the valuations more reasonable and aligned with long-term averages," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.  

• FII Selling  

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold a record amount of shares in October, reaching Rs 88,244 crore by October 21, according to NSDL data. This high level of selling was matched by strong buying from domestic institutional investors (DIIs). In the last session, FIIs sold Rs 2,261.83 crore in shares, while DIIs bought Rs 3,225.91 crore in stocks, according to exchange data.  

• Asian Stocks  

Most Asian markets ended lower today. Japan's Nikkei fell by 1.39%, and South Korea's Kospi index dropped by 1.31%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was nearly unchanged, while the Shanghai Composite index rose by 0.54%.  

• Gold Prices  

Gold prices hit a record high due to conflicts in the Middle East and uncertainty around the upcoming US Presidential Elections. Spot gold was stable at $2,746.25 per ounce, after reaching $2,749.07 earlier in the day. US gold futures rose by 0.1% to $2,761.40.  

• Oil Prices  

Crude oil prices dropped after data showed that US crude inventories were higher than expected. Brent crude futures fell by 0.4% to $75.73 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures decreased by 0.5% to $71.42 a barrel.