Stock markets close lower on sharp fall in Kotak Bank, unabated foreign fund outflows

From the 30 Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank tanked more than 4% after the company’s quarterly earnings failed to cheer investors.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty gave up initial gains and ended lower on Monday (October 21, 2024) tracking a sharp fall in Kotak Mahindra Bank and relentless foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share Sensex declined 73.48 points or 0.09% to settle at 81,151.27. The barometer shot 545 points at the opening but succumbed to selling pressure later and hit a low of 80,811.23. The index gyrated 958.79 points between the day’s high and the low level. The NSE Nifty dipped 72.95 points or 0.29% to 24,781.10.

From the 30 Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank tanked more than 4% after the company’s quarterly earnings failed to cheer investors. Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever and JSW Steel were the other big laggards.

HDFC Bank climbed nearly 3% after the firm on Saturday (October 19, 2024) reported a 6% increase in September quarter net profit to ₹17,825.91 crore on a consolidated basis.

On a standalone basis, the largest private sector lender’s post-tax net grew to ₹16,820.97 crore during the reporting period, as against ₹15,976.11 crore in the year-ago period. Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Maruti and Tech Mahindra were also among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹5,485.70 crore on Friday (October 18, 2024), according to exchange data. However, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹5,214.83 crore.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled lower while Seoul and Shanghai ended higher. European markets were trading lower. The U.S. markets ended higher on Friday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.04% to ₹73.82 a barrel.

Recovering from its early lows, the BSE benchmark climbed 218.14 points or 0.27% to settle at 81,224.75 on Friday. The Nifty ended 104.20 points or 0.42% higher at 24,854.05.