• The Indian stock market ended in the red on Monday, with the Sensex and Nifty both seeing decreases.
• The downturn was driven by selling in the FMCG sector and concerns over potential rate adjustments by the RBI.
• Despite the overall downturn, capital goods and metal stocks saw some buying interest.
• The market's performance was influenced by a combination of domestic and global factors, including mixed global cues and concerns over potential rate adjustments by the RBI.

The Indian stock market concluded its trading session in the red on Monday, with the Sensex settling at 81,508.46, a decrease of 200.66 points or 0.25 per cent. The Nifty also ended lower at 24,619, down by 58.80 points or 0.24 per cent. The market's downturn was primarily driven by selling in the FMCG sector, with Hindustan Unilever Limited's shares falling by more than 3 per cent or Rs 83.15 to close at Rs 2,401 per share.

The market sentiment was influenced by a combination of mixed global cues and concerns over potential rate adjustments by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), following recent policy announcements. Research analyst Vaibhav Vidwani highlighted these factors as key contributors to the market's performance.

The domestic market exhibited a range-bound trade following last week's rally. Experts pointed to the rise in oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East and investor caution ahead of key economic data releases, such as India and US CPI data and the ECB policy announcement this week, as factors impacting market sentiment.

Market Performance and Key Players

Despite the overall market downturn, capital goods and metal stocks saw some buying interest, likely in anticipation of a stimulus from China following an unexpected drop in inflation. The Nifty Bank ended at 53,407.75, down by 101.75 points or 0.19 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 58,998.75, gaining 294.15 points or 0.50 per cent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index also rose, closing at 19,528.60 after a gain of 36.50 points or 0.19 per cent.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,294 shares ended in green, 1,776 in red, and 170 shares saw no change. Among the Sensex pack, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Nestle India, Asian Paints, ITC, Reliance, M&M, and IndusInd Bank were the top losers. On the other hand, L&T, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, and Kotak Mahindra Bank emerged as the top gainers.

The market's performance on Monday followed a pattern of selling in blue-chip stocks, including Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, and Axis Bank. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex oscillated between highs and lows throughout the day, moving between a high of 81,783.28 and a low of 81,411.55.

Global Cues and Investor Sentiment

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, noted that the market witnessed a range-bound session and mostly languished in negative territory due to a lack of investor enthusiasm following last week's rally. In Asian markets, Seoul and Shanghai settled lower, while Tokyo and Hong Kong ended in the green.

The Indian stock market has faced selling pressure throughout October, with bears tightening their grip on D-Street amid weak global cues and rising volatility. This led the frontline indices to enter the bear market just a few days before Diwali 2024. However, the Muhurat Trading session, which kicked off Vikram Samvat 2081, drove the stock market into a festive cheer.

In the first week of November, investors closely monitored key market triggers, including the next set of July-September quarter results for fiscal 2024-25 (Q2FY25), US Presidential election results, US Fed interest rate decision, Middle-East geopolitical tensions, foreign fund outflows, crude oil prices, global cues, and domestic and global macroeconomic data.

The quarter results were impacted due to a tepid demand environment and margin pressure, which dragged FMCG, metal, auto, and realty the most. While IT remained relatively flat and contributed less to the overall losses in expectation of a pickup in BFSI spending and a favourable outlook in US spending.