Nifty slides below 25,050; media shares under pressure

The headline equity indices continued to extend losses in mid-afternoon. The Nifty traded below the 25,050 mark after hitting the days high of 25,485.05 in early-afternoon trade. Media shares extended losses for the second trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 661.91 points or 0.80% to 81,840.85. The Nifty 50 index dropped 218.45 points or 0.87% to 25,037.70.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.06% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.76%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,641 shares rose and 2,255 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 7.44% to 14.15.

Economy :

The HSBC India Services PMI survey, compiled by S&P Global, indicates strong sector performance, but total new business, international sales, and output have all increased at the slowest rates since late 2023.

Despite solid job creation and strengthening business confidence, the Services Business Activity Index fell from 60.9 in August to 57.7 in September, still indicating growth above the neutral mark of 50.0.

The slowdown in output growth, the lowest since November 2023, was influenced by intense competition, cost pressures, and shifts in consumer preferences toward online services. While new business intakes expanded sharply, their growth rate dropped to a ten-month low, and international sales growth weakened significantly, reflecting broader trends in private sector output.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index fell 1.54% to 2,093.75. The index slipped 3.63% in two trading sessions.

Saregama India (down 4.1%), Network 18 Media & Investments (down 2.66%), Dish TV India (down 2.03%), Nazara Technologies (down 1.78%), TV18 Broadcast (down 1.66%), Tips Music (down 1.61%), PVR Inox (down 1.3%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 0.94%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 0.49%) and Sun TV Network (down 0.16%) edged lower.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 2.32% to 6.934 as compared with previous close 6.888.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.9675, compared with its close of 83.9600 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 December 2024 settlement rose 0.17% to Rs 76,370.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.07% to 101.92.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.29% to 3.846.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2024 settlement added 74 cents or 0.95% to $78.36 a barrel.

Stocks in spotlight:

Vedanta fell 0.89%. The diversified minerals company informed that its total aluminum production rose 3% to 6,09,000 tonnes in Q2 FY25 as compared with 5,94,000 tonnes posted in Q2 FY24.

Oriental Rail Infrastructure added 1.44% after the company announced that it has secured an order worth Rs 3.67 crore from Western Railways (WR), Mahalaxmi, Indian Railways. The cost of the project is Rs 3.67 crore and it is to be executed by 30 October 2025.

Uflex shed 0.66%. The companys wholly owned subsidiary, Flex Asepto (Egypt) S.A.E. decided to set up an aseptic packaging facility at Egypt.

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