Barometers trade with minor losses; media shares slide for 3rd day

The key equity indices traded with limited losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,950 mark after hitting days high of 25,143 in early trade. Media shares extended losses for the third consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 167.98 points or 0.21% to 81,515.63. The Nifty 50 index fell 92.95 points or 0.37% to 24,921.65.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 1.56% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index tumbled 2.61%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 624 shares rose and 3,317 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

According to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, India's forex reserves were at $704.89 billion, having risen by $12.6 billion in the week through Sept. 27 in their biggest weekly increase since mid-July 2023.

According to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI, Foreign currency assets (FCAs) were up by $10.4 billion to $616 billion.

Gold reserves reported a surge of $2 billion to $65.7 billion. Meanwhile, SDRs for the week rose marginally by $8 million to stand at $18.547 billion. Reserve position in the IMF dipped by $71 million to $4.3 billion.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 4.49% to 14.76. The Nifty 31 October 2024 futures were trading at 25,121.20, at a premium of 199.55 points as compared with the spot at 24,921.65.

The Nifty option chain for the 31 October 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 35.3 lakh contracts at the 25,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 35.7 lakh contracts were seen at 24,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index declined 1.94% to 2,030.75. The index tumbled 6.53% in three consecutive trading sessions.

Network 18 Media & Investments (down 4.99%), TV18 Broadcast (down 3.9%), Nazara Technologies (down 3.49%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 3.32%), Dish TV India (down 3.27%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 2.94%), Saregama India (down 2.21%), PVR Inox (down 1.93%) and Sun TV Network (down 1.78%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight :

Titan Company fell 2.25%. The Tata Group company reported standalone revenue growth of 25% in second quarter of FY25. The firm also launched 75 new outlets during the quarter, taking its total retail network to 3,171 stores.

Bank of India slipped 2.86%. The bank informed that its domestic deposits increased 12.34% to Rs 6,72,731 crore as on September 2024 compared with Rs 5,98,850 crore posted in September 2023.

Metropolis Healthcare shed 0.82%. The healthcare service provider said that its revenue jumped around 13% year on year (YoY) in the quarter ended 30 September 2024.

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