Market Today: Sensex Drops 172 Points, Nifty Slips Below 22,600; Auto, Pharma Stocks Drag

Stock Market Today: Sensex falls 172 points, Nifty slips below 22,600; auto, pharma stocks drag

Stock Market Today: Indian equity markets opened lower on Thursday, October 1, with selling pressure extending across broader markets. Around 9:20 am, the BSE Sensex was down 172 points, or 0.24%, at 72,308.01, while the Nifty 50 fell 65.50 points, or 0.29%, to 22,554.95.

The weak start came despite gains in select IT and banking stocks, as investors remained cautious at the beginning of the new month.

Auto, pharma stocks under pressure

The Nifty Auto index was among the biggest sectoral laggards, falling 2.07% in early trade. M&M was the worst-performing Sensex stock, declining 2.36%, while other automobile stocks also remained under pressure.

Healthcare and pharmaceutical stocks also opened lower. The Nifty Healthcare index fell 1.16%, while the Nifty Pharma index declined 0.89%.

Other sectors also traded in the red, with the Nifty Cement index down 1.51%, Nifty Oil & Gas falling 0.86% and Nifty Realty declining 0.73%.

Meanwhile, the India VIX rose 1.61% to 13.71, pointing to a modest rise in market volatility.

IT stocks buck the trend

IT stocks were among the few bright spots in early trade. Infosys gained 2.07%, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank at 1.93% and TCS at 1.49% on the Sensex.

HDFC Bank and HCL Technologies also advanced 1.03% and 0.98%, respectively.

On the NSE, the Nifty IT index climbed 1.40%, making it the best-performing major sectoral index in early trading.

Private banking stocks also remained firm, with the Nifty Private Bank index rising 0.63%. The Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services indices gained 0.28% and 0.26%, respectively.

Broader markets remain weak

The selling pressure extended beyond the benchmark indices. The Nifty Next 50 fell 0.57%, while the Nifty Midcap 150 declined 0.52% and the Nifty Smallcap 250 dropped 0.55%.

The Nifty 500 was also down 0.41%, signalling broad-based weakness in early trade.

Sensex gainers and losers

Among Sensex constituents, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS, HDFC Bank and HCL Technologies were among the leading gainers, rising as much as 2.07%.

On the other hand, M&M, UltraTech Cement, BEL, Larsen & Toubro and InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) were among the major laggards, falling as much as 2.36%.

What analysts are saying

V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, said sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) selling had intensified over the previous two sessions, with FIIs selling equities worth Rs 20,128 crore.

He pointed to the rise in the US 10-year bond yield to 5.3% as a factor that could keep foreign selling pressure elevated. At the same time, he noted that FIIs continued to invest through the primary market and buy mid- and small-cap stocks despite selling heavily through exchanges.

According to Vijayakumar, FIIs sold equities worth Rs 45,536 crore through exchanges in September but invested Rs 9,676 crore through the primary market.

He described the current weakness as a short-term phase and said a decline in crude oil prices could help markets recover. Brent crude had fallen below $98.

“Investors can use this weak phase in the market to accumulate high-quality stocks, particularly large-caps in growth segments where the risk-reward ratio is favourable for investment,” Vijayakumar said.