The Sensex and Nifty were in the red by noon on October 21, weighed down by losses in IT and FMCG stocks. The day had started on a high, bolstered by gains in heavyweight HDFC Bank, but profit-booking quickly took over, dragging the indices lower.

At 11.50 AM, the Sensex was down 245 points or 0.3 percent at 80,979, and the Nifty was down 114 points or 0.5 percent at 24,739. About 1,174 shares advanced, 2,227 shares declined, and 104 shares remained unchanged.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index fell 0.3 percent, and the BSE Smallcap index shed 0.7 percent. Volatility spiked, with the India VIX climbing nearly 7 percent to 14, reflecting the turbulence in the market since the opening bell.

Sectoral Trend

All 13 sectoral indices were in the red on October 21, with Nifty Media, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Metal, and Nifty FMCG each falling over 1 percent.

Nifty FMCG recorded its fourth consecutive session of loss, dragged by a nearly 8 percent drop in Tata Consumer Products after disappointing earnings led analysts to slash target prices of the stock.

Kotak Mahindra Bank pulled down the Nifty Private Bank index, falling nearly 6 percent after lower-than-expected Q2 results. Slower loan growth, higher slippages, shrinking margins, and RBI's digital banking restrictions hurt the bank's performance.

IT stocks, initially buoyed by Tech Mahindra's earnings beat, also succumbed to profit-booking.

Fundamental View

"The hope raised by the Chinese stimulus and the cheap valuations of Chinese stocks have the potential to sustain the 'Sell India, Buy China' tactical trade for some more time," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services. "Of the total FII AUM of $930 billion about 28 percent are financials which are facing the brunt of FII selling," he said.

Vijayakumar said that the sustained FII selling has rendered the valuations of financials attractive in an otherwise overvalued market.

Technical View

Sameet Chavan, Head of Research at Angel One, said that Nifty 50's drop below 24,600 could signal weakness. However, a breakout above 25,250 would boost optimism ahead of the festive week.

Key Nifty gainers

HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Eicher Motors

Key Nifty losers

Tata Consumer Products, Kotak Mahindra, BPCL, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv

Key Sensex gainers

HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Reliance, Nestle

Key Sensex losers

Kotak Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Infosys

Stock moves

PNC Infratech: Shares hit a 20 percent lower circuit after the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways disqualified the company and its two subsidiaries from participating in any of the ministry's tenders.

HDFC Bank: Shares surged 4 percent after the Street gave thumbs up to its September quarter performance. Strong metrics were observed on all counts, with slight deterioration seen in the asset quality picture.