Markets fall dragged by Hindustan Unilever; massive foreign fund outflows
The Hindu
Equity markets decline due to foreign fund outflows and disappointing earnings, hindering investor sentiment on Thursday.
Equity markets turned negative after rallying in early trade on Thursday (October 24, 2024) as unabated foreign fund outflows and disappointing earnings from Hindustan Unilever dented investors' sentiment.
The BSE Sensex climbed 177.84 points to 80,259.82 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 45.15 points to 24,480.65.
However, soon the benchmark indices faced selling and were trading lower. The BSE benchmark gauge quoted 219.12 points lower at 79,862.86 and the Nifty traded 74 points down at 24,361.50.
From the 30 Sensex pack, Hindustan Unilever fell over 5% after the FMCG major reported a 2.33% decline in consolidated net profit at ₹2,595 crore for the second quarter ended in September 2024 impacted by moderation in demand from the urban market.
Nestle, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank and Maruti were the other big laggards.
HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma, Power Grid and HCL Tech were among the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹5,684.63 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹6,039.90 crore.
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