Stock market today: Indian stocks showed a smart recovery in the second half of the trading session on Friday, October 18, rebounding from an initial weak start. This turnaround propelled the frontline indices to close on a positive note, breaking a three-day losing streak.
The Nifty 50 concluded the session with a gain of 0.42%, closing at 24,854. At one point, the index tumbled below the 24,600 level. However, a robust recovery in the banking and auto stocks helped the index finish in positive territory. Similarly, the Sensex ended the trading day with a gain of 0.27%, closing at 81,227.
In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap 100 index rose by 0.31%, closing at 58,649, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index ended the session with a modest gain of 0.06%, finishing at 19,077.
Commenting on today's market performance, Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said, "After the morning sell-off, the market bounced from the oversold level driven by selective buying in financials, auto, and metals stocks. The initial set of results from private banks were positive, building an expectation that the upcoming set of financial results on the weekends will also be optimistic."
"The metals also performed well, benefiting from a slightly better-than-expected growth in China’s Q3 GDP. Consecutive rate cuts by the ECB supported rate-sensitive stocks," he added.
Banking stocks demonstrated a significant recovery in today’s trading session, with the Nifty Bank index closing at 52,094, marking a gain of 1.57%. Metal stocks also rebounded significantly after a four-day decline, as investor sentiment was buoyed by China's recent funding initiatives and encouraging economic data.
The Nifty Metal index closed the session with a gain of 1.57%, reaching 9,753. On the downside, IT stocks faced significant losses, with 70% of the Nifty IT constituents ending in the red. LTIMindtree and Infosys were among the biggest losers following their earnings releases on Thursday.
LTIMindtree saw a decline of 6.3%, closing at ₹5,991 per share, while Infosys tumbled by 4.5%, finishing at ₹1,879 per share. Overall, the Nifty IT index ended the session with a drop of 1.47% at 42,106.
Similarly, FMCG stocks experienced significant declines in today's session, causing the Nifty FMCG index to reach its lowest point since early August. The index closed the session in the red, down 0.51% at 61,042 points.
Today's drop has pushed the index down 8.10% from its recent high of 66,427 points.
Shares of Manappuram Finance, Elecon Engineering, Indraprastha Gas, and Mahanagar Gas all experienced declines ranging from 10% to 13.6% today. Overall, 50 constituents of the Nifty 500 index ended Friday's trading session in the red with losses of up to 2%.
The decline in Manappuram Finance's shares came after analysts downgraded their target price for the stock due to recent regulatory restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on its subsidiary, Asirvad Micro Finance. In today's intraday day deals, the stock hit its lowest point since November 2023.
The drop in Elecon Engineering shares followed the release of its Q2FY25 results today, which missed market expectations. The company reported a profit after tax (PAT) of ₹88 crore, reflecting a 1% year-on-year decrease, while revenues increased by 4.8% year-on-year to ₹508 crore.
Among the top Nifty 500 performers in today's session, Motilal Oswal Financial Services led the charge, with the stock surging 10.60% to ₹1,028 per share. It also reached a new all-time high of ₹1,063 during the trading day. This sharp rally has resulted in a remarkable 46% gain in just nine sessions.
Aditya Birla Real Estate also experienced significant gains, rising 6.30% to ₹3,040 per share. The stock recorded a fresh peak of ₹3,125 in intraday trading, contributing to an impressive 150% increase in value year-to-date.
Other stocks such as Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Axis Bank, Tejas Networks, Sundaram Finance, Zee Entertainment and Anand Rathi Wealth all ended with gains exceeding 5%.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
