The Sensex and Nifty remained in the red as of noon on November 5 weighed down by declines in the banking, oil & gas, and FMCG sectors.

Investors avoided significant bets ahead of the U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting. Over the past five weeks, lackluster earnings and sustained foreign selling have pressured domestic equities, with the Nifty 50 falling nearly 9 percent from its record highs on September 27.

At 12.12 PM, the Sensex was down 380 points, or 0.5 percent, at 78,401, while the Nifty declined by 115 points, also a 0.5 percent drop, to 23,879. Market breadth showed that 1,726 shares advanced, 1,608 declined, and 93 remained unchanged.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index fell by 0.8 percent, and the BSE Smallcap index was down 0.2 percent.

Sectoral Trend

Banking stocks led the decline in the Nifty 50, with the index slipping half a percent as ICICI Bank faced heavy selling pressure. FMCG and telecom sectors also added to the downward pull.

Meanwhile, the metal index climbed 1.5 percent, buoyed by gains in Tata Steel, JSW Steel, and Hindalco amid China stimulus expectations.

Fundamental View

"With two-thirds of Nifty 50 companies missing their earnings estimates in Q2, Nifty 50 earnings for FY25 has been drastically revised down to less than 10 percent from the consensus 15 percent earlier," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services. "With this kind of earnings downgrade it would be difficult to sustain the current valuation. This is the rationale of the relentless FII selling which might continue for some more time."

Technical View

"At the lower end of the spectrum, 23,900-23,800 withholds a pivotal support area (for Nifty 50), and a breakdown could drag the index lower towards 23,500-23,450," said  Sameet Chavan, Head of Technical and Derivative Research at Angel One. " A series of stiff resistance could be seen around the 24,200-24,400 subzone and a sustained breakthrough could only direct for a potential reversal from the ongoing carnage."

Key Nifty gainers

JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Hindalco, IndusInd Bank

Key Nifty losers

Adani Ports, Trent, Coal India, HDFC Life, Shriram Finance

Key Sensex gainers

JSW Steel, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Nestle

Key Sensex losers

M&M, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, ITC

Stock moves

Amara Raja Energy & Mobility: Shares fell over 4 percent after the company reported weak earnings for the quarter ended September 30, missing estimates.

Procter & Gamble Health: The company's shares jumped over 6 percent after it posted a 26 percent rise in Q2FY25 profit to Rs 82.33 crore, up from Rs 65.57 crore last year. Revenue from operations grew 2.7 percent year-on-year to Rs 313.41 crore.