On Tuesday, October 22, 2024, India’s stock market started strong, with both the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 trading higher.

At the opening bell, the BSE Sensex dipped slightly by 46.67 points to 81,105. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 edged up by 8 points to 24,789, marking a 0.03% increase.

More than half of the stocks on the BSE Sensex were in the red, with notable losses for Tata Steel (down 1.16%), Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors, SBI, and IndusInd Bank. On the other hand, UltraTech Cement was among the top gainers, rising 1.61%, followed by Titan, Infosys, ICICI Bank, and Power Grid Corp.

Similarly, on the Nifty 50, 28 out of the 50 stocks were trading lower. SBI Life saw the most significant drop, down by 1.27%, followed by HDFC Life, Shriram Finance, BEL, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. However, Tech Mahindra (up 0.69%), Maruti Suzuki, Wipro, UltraTech Cement, and Bharti Airtel were the top performers.

Across various sectors, the IT index gained 0.56%, along with FMCG and Financial Services. However, the Realty index dropped 1.15%, followed by declines in PSU Banks, Metals, and Autos.

In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap 100 fell by 0.29%, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 was down by 0.83%.

On Monday, the Indian stock market faced some pressure as investors booked profits amid the ongoing Q2 earnings season. Despite a nearly 3% rise in HDFC Bank’s share price, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 ended the day in negative territory. The Sensex fluctuated within a 959-point range before closing at 81,151.27, down 73.48 points or 0.09%. The Nifty 50 also dropped 73 points, ending at 24,781, down 0.29%.

Sector-wise, the Nifty Media index was the worst performer, dropping 2.8%, followed by Nifty Realty (down 1.7%), Nifty IT (down 1.5%), and Nifty Private Bank (down 1.3%). Only the Nifty Auto and Financial Services indices ended in the green, gaining 0.42% and 0.07%, respectively.

Looking at the Asia-Pacific region, most markets were down on Tuesday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.3%, South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.2%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.24%. China’s Shanghai Composite saw a marginal decline of 0.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bucked the trend, gaining 0.6%.

Global stock markets faced losses on Monday, driven by concerns over rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty around the upcoming U.S. presidential election. These concerns pushed gold prices to new highs, with the metal trading at $2,719.33 per ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.3% higher at $2,738.9 per ounce.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average finished lower, dragged down by defensive stocks, including real estate and healthcare. However, the Nasdaq saw modest gains, with Nvidia reaching a record high. The Dow Jones fell 0.80%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.18%, while the Nasdaq rose by 0.27%.

In Europe, the stock index fell by 0.66%, and MSCI’s global stock index dropped 0.37%. Oil prices saw a recovery, with Brent crude rising 1.68% to $74.29 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed by 1.94% to $70.56 per barrel.

Traders are keeping an eye on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting, where there is an 89.3% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut.

The dollar also gained strength, buoyed by rising U.S. bond yields. Against the yen, the dollar strengthened by 0.86%, while the dollar index climbed to 103.97.

In Europe, the ECB cut rates for the third time this year, and German producer prices saw a larger-than-expected decline in September.