Sensex, Nifty open lower as financial stocks drag markets; Tata Steel up 2%

Benchmark stock market indices opened lower on Friday, dragged by a decline in heavyweight financial stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex declined 65.89 points to 81,545.52, while the NSE Nifty50 was down 1.35 points to 24,997.10 as of 10:00 AM.
Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said that the market is likely to remain volatile in the near-term alternating between FII selling and DII buying.
Leading the gainers on Nifty50 was Eicher Motors, which saw a notable increase of 2.09%. Hindalco Industries followed with a rise of 1.87%, while JSW Steel gained 1.64%. Tata Steel also performed well, climbing 1.53%, and Tech Mahindra rounded out the top gainers with a 1.11% increase.
On the flip side, several stocks faced declines. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) experienced the steepest drop, falling by 1.23%. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was also down, declining by 1.12%. Cipla saw a decrease of 1.10%, while Adani Enterprises fell by 0.78%. ICICI Bank completed the list of top losers with a drop of 0.70%.
“Attractive valuations in other markets, particularly in Chinese stocks, will facilitate further selling by FIIs in India since Indian valuations are elevated. Concerns of earnings downgrades in H2 FY 25 render Indian valuations difficult to sustain. However, the sustained flows into the domestic mutual funds, where monthly SIPs have set a new record of Rs 24500 in September, will ensure that all FII selling will be easily absorbed by DII buying. This has been the trend in October so far,” he added.
The Nifty Smallcap100 index led the gains, rising by 0.67%, while the Nifty Midcap100 index also performed well, posting a gain of 0.27%. The India VIX, often referred to as the fear index, saw a notable decline of 2.37%.
Several sectors posted gains, with Nifty Media leading the way, up by 1.30%. Nifty Metal also performed strongly, rising 1.29%. The healthcare sector showed positive momentum, with Nifty Healthcare Index gaining 0.66% and Nifty Midsmall Healthcare increasing by 0.54%. Nifty Pharma also saw a notable rise of 0.73%. Other sectors in the green included Nifty Oil & Gas (0.50%), Nifty Consumer Durables (0.33%), Nifty IT (0.34%), and Nifty PSU Bank (0.21%). Nifty Private Bank showed a modest gain of 0.06%.
On the downside, some sectors faced declines. Nifty Financial Services 25/50 experienced the steepest fall, dropping by 0.37%. Nifty Financial Services also retreated, declining by 0.34%. Nifty Auto decreased by 0.31%, while Nifty Realty dipped by 0.17%. Nifty Bank saw a slight decrease of 0.14%, and Nifty FMCG fell by 0.11%.