Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty fell in early trade on Thursday (October 31, 2024), dragged down by IT stocks and relentless foreign fund outflows.

The BSE Sensex declined 225.17 points to 79,707.66 in early trade. The NSE Nifty fell by 60.85 points to 24,280.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Titan, Maruti Suzuki and UltraTech Cement were the biggest laggards.

In contrast, Larsen & Toubro jumped over 5% after the infrastructure major posted a 5% rise in consolidated profit after tax to ₹3,395 crore in the September 2024 quarter on account of higher income.

Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, Tata Steel and State Bank of India were also among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday (October 30, 2024), as they offloaded shares worth ₹4,613.65 crore, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo were trading lower while Shanghai and Hong Kong were quoted in the green.

The U.S. markets ended in negative territory on Wednesday (October 30, 2024).

"This Diwali, it is unlikely to see fireworks in the market. India has been underperforming in October, with the Nifty down 5.7% when markets in the U.S. and Japan have delivered positive returns and China and Hong Kong have hugely outperformed.

“India’s underperformance is driven by lofty valuations, relentless FII selling and concerns over slowing earnings growth. In the near term, this scenario is unlikely to change, reversing the trend decisively, even though mild pullbacks are possible,” V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.48% to $72.90 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark Sensex tumbled 426.85 points or 0.53%, to settle at 79,942.18 on Wednesday (October 30, 2024). The Nifty dropped 126 points or 0.51%, to 24,340.85.