Share Market Today: The two key equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday closed in the negative territory extending their decline for the fourth consecutive day. The decline continued as foreign fund outflows and disappointing earnings from Hindustan Unilever weighed on investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex dropped 17 points to 80,065. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 closed at 24,399, down 36 points.
Stock update
On the 30-share Sensex platform, HUL slipped 5.83 per cent. Nestle, ITC, Maruti, Asian Paints, TCS were among the losers. On the flip side, UltraCemco, M&M, Titan, SBI, Adani Ports, NTPC emerged gainers.
In the broader market, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices shed 0.33 per cent and 0.20 per cent, respectively.
Sectoral update
Sectorwise, the Nifty PSU Bank index led sectoral performance with a 1.22 per cent gain, followed by Bank Nifty, Private Bank, Financial Services, and Healthcare indices. On the downside, the Nifty FMCG index dropped 2.83 per cent, weighed down by Hindustan Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, and Marico. Additionally, the Nifty Realty, IT, Media, Metal, and Consumer Durables indices closed in the red on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,684.63 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 6,039.90 crore.
"The major headwind the market is facing now is the massive, unprecedented and sustained FII selling which has touched Rs 93,088 crore through 23rd October, as per NSDL data. The fundamental trigger for the FII outflows is the elevated valuations in India and the relatively cheap and attractive valuations in markets like China and Hong Kong," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Global update
In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong settled lower while Tokyo ended higher. European markets were trading in positive territory. The US markets ended in negative territory on Wednesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.99 per cent to $76.45 a barrel.
Rupee stays unchanged at 84.07
The rupee stayed stuck at its near-record low of 84.07 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday as surging crude oil prices and persistent foreign fund outflow weighed on the local unit. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic unit opened at 84.06 against the greenback and remained almost standstill throughout the session. The unit finally settled at the previous session's closing level of 84.07 (provisional) against the dollar.
On Wednesday, the rupee had settled with a marginal gain of 1 paisa at 84.07 against the US dollar. The local currency has been struggling to recover since October 11, when it closed at its lowest level of 84.10 against the dollar.