It was another weak session for the Indian stock market as key indices remained lower for the second straight day on Thursday, November 6, with investor sentiment staying fragile amid mixed global cues and limited domestic triggers.
Though the markets opened on a positive note, they failed to sustain the momentum as the sell-off deepened through the day, causing the Nifty 50 to shed 0.34% to 25,509, while the S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.18% to 83,311.
The broader markets also closed with deeper cuts, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 index falling sharply by 1.3%, and the Nifty Midcap 100 slipping 0.95%.
Barring the Nifty IT, all major sectoral indices ended in the red, with Nifty Media emerging as the top laggard, down 2.59%, followed by Nifty Metal, Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty Realty, and Nifty PSU Bank, which posted losses between 0.5% and 2%.
Top Losers
Delhivery was the top underperformer in the Nifty 500 pack as the stock lost 8.5% to ₹443.8 apiece after the company reported a net loss of ₹50.3 crore in Q2, compared with a net profit of ₹10.2 crore in the same period last year.
BEML’s results also disappointed the Street, causing the stock to drop 8.11% to ₹1,974 apiece, its lowest level since early September. The company reported a 6% YoY decline in net profit to ₹48 crore, down from ₹51 crore in the year-ago quarter.
Though Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail’s net loss narrowed in Q2, its shares slumped 7.2% to ₹78.1 apiece, while a cautious full-year guidance by Blue Star led its stock to fall 7.1% to ₹1,781 apiece.
The company said it continues to witness a demand slowdown in the air conditioner segment, as prolonged rains and lower temperatures have impacted secondary sales.
Likewise, weaker-than-expected performance by Sheela Foam also dragged its stock down 6.4% to ₹672 apiece.
Grasim Industries shares also came under pressure, losing 6.2% to ₹2,703 apiece, after the company announced that Rakshit Hargave, CEO of its paints division Birla Opus, had resigned from his position on Wednesday.
The unexpected exit from the newly launched paints business weighed on investor sentiment, overshadowing the company’s otherwise healthy quarterly performance.
Another Aditya Birla Group firm, Hindalco Industries, shed 5.17% to ₹788.40 apiece after analysts estimated that a fire at Novelis’ New York plant could impact the company’s cash flow by $550–650 million.
