Markets give up initial gains dragged by sharp fall in Kotak Bank, unabated foreign fund outflows
The Hindu
Equity markets open strong but later decline; HDFC Bank gains, Kotak Mahindra Bank falls, global markets mixed.
Equity benchmark indices began the trade on a buoyant note on Monday (October 21, 2024), helped by buying in blue-chip HDFC Bank, but later gave up all the initial gains amid a sharp fall in Kotak Mahindra Bank and unabated foreign fund outflows.
The BSE Sensex jumped 545.27 points to 81,770.02 in early trade. The NSE Nifty climbed 124.25 points to 24,978.30.
However, soon the benchmark indices succumbed to profit-taking and were trading lower. The BSE benchmark gauge quoted 136.52 points down at 81,060.86 and the Nifty traded 100.70 points lower at 24,753.35.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Titan, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Tata Steel and HCL Technologies were among the biggest gainers.
HDFC Bank climbed nearly 3% in early trade after the firm on Saturday (October 19, 2024) reported a 6% increase in September quarter net profit to ₹17,825.91 crore on a consolidated basis.
On a standalone basis, the largest private sector lender’s post-tax net grew to ₹16,820.97 crore during the reporting period, as against ₹15,976.11 crore in the year-ago period.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and NTPC were among the laggards.

Domestic household savings replace foreign institutional money, giving Indian markets stability but raising concerns about unequal participation and limited returns for new retail investors. Access asymmetry and unequal outcomes emerge as key challenges, making investor protection, lower fees, passive investing, and stronger governance crucial.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) should work closely with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), and other concerned government agencies, to strengthen diplomatic engagement with oil-producing countries, secure favourable investment terms and address tax and regulatory hurdles faced by public-sector enterprises (PSEs) abroad, the parliamentary committee on public undertakings (2025-26) stated in their latest report tabled Wednesday.











