Dalal Street Struggles As IT Stocks Drag: Sensex Marginally Down, Nifty Ends At 22,750

Indian equity benchmarks traded in a narrow range on Tuesday, October 27, as gains in media, realty, pharmaceutical and automobile stocks helped counter losses in IT and FMCG shares. Investors also tracked crude oil prices, foreign fund flows and corporate earnings amid upcoming central bank policy decisions.

The BSE Sensex closed just under 73,600, slipping 8 points, while the NSE Nifty 50 settled at 22,750, clocking a marginal dip of 3.5 points.

Media, Realty Stocks Outperform; IT Drags

The Nifty Media index led sectoral gains, rising 3.66 per cent in midday trade. Realty advanced 1.70 per cent, while pharma and auto stocks gained 1.64 per cent and 1.40 per cent, respectively. Metal, energy and PSU bank indices also traded higher.

IT stocks were the biggest drag, with the Nifty IT index falling 1.07 per cent. FMCG declined 0.30 per cent, while financial services slipped 0.14 per cent. The Nifty Bank index was nearly flat.

Among individual stocks, Tata Consumer Products gained 4.86 per cent in midday trade, followed by Bajaj Auto, up 2.46 per cent, and Trent, up 2.43 per cent. Hindustan Unilever led the losers, falling 2.14 per cent, while TCS shed 1.69 per cent.

Also Read : Gold Silver Rate Today (Oct 27): Metals Take A Hit, Check Latest Rates In Delhi, Mumbai, And More

Crude Oil, Global Policy Decisions In Focus

Brent crude stood at $109.84 per barrel and WTI at $102.36 in the morning update. Although prices edged lower, elevated oil costs remain a concern for India because of their potential impact on the import bill, inflation and the rupee. Aviation, paints, chemicals, logistics and automobile stocks may remain sensitive to further price movements.

Global markets offered some support. Wall Street ended higher in the previous session, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.82 per cent, the S&P 500 rising 0.70 per cent and the Dow Jones adding 0.28 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei advanced 2.36 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite posted modest gains.

Investors are also awaiting policy decisions from the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan this week. While markets expect rates to remain unchanged, guidance from the central banks could influence bond yields, the US dollar and foreign investment flows.

FII Selling Offsets Domestic Buying

Foreign institutional investors sold Indian equities worth Rs 1,462.49 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 2,609.57 crore, according to the latest available data in the supplied copy.

Market volatility and leveraged positions in smaller stocks remain additional concerns. Margin-trading-facility exposure fell to around Rs 1.54 lakh crore on October 22 from approximately Rs 1.60 lakh crore in September. About 46 per cent of the funding book was linked to smallcap stocks, which have faced pressure during October.

HDFC Bank, Q2 Earnings In Focus

HDFC Bank was in focus as Anup Bagchi took charge as Managing Director and CEO on October 27 for a three-year term, succeeding Sashidhar Jagdishan. Given the lender’s weight in benchmark indices, investors will watch for signs of continuity in strategy and business performance.

Earnings also drove stock-specific activity. Paytm operator One97 Communications reported a 976 per cent year-on-year rise in Q2 FY27 net profit to Rs 226 crore, while Indian Overseas Bank’s profit increased 56 per cent to Rs 1,912 crore. Tata Consumer Products posted a 16 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 470 crore, and ITC Hotels reported a 52 per cent increase to Rs 203 crore.

Sona Comstar reported a 29.3 per cent increase in profit attributable to owners to Rs 223.40 crore and secured new business worth Rs 3,600 crore, taking its net order book to Rs 25,100 crore.

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