Final Trade: Sensex down 55 pts in volatile trade; Nifty falls below 24,150 as LIC, Tata Motors dive 2% each

Indian stock markets extended their losses on Friday, November 8, with sharp sell-offs in major large-cap stocks dragging down the frontline indices. The Nifty 50 closed at 24,148, down by 0.21%, and ended the week with a 0.64% decline. The S&P BSE Sensex fell by 55.70 points, or 0.07%, to settle at 79,486, marking a weekly loss of 0.30%. 

Despite the US Federal Reserve's 25-basis point rate cut on Thursday, investor sentiment remained subdued as concerns over softening Q2 earnings weighed on the market. The Nifty Midcap 100 index plunged 1.42% to 56,300, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell by 1.76% to 18,433.

Sector-wise, the Nifty Realty index continued its bearish streak, closing 3% lower, followed by the Nifty Media index, which dropped by 2.09%. Losses were also seen in the Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Energy, and Nifty Metal indices, all of which closed with losses exceeding 1%. 

Biggest Gainers

However, IT stocks remained resilient, with the Nifty IT index gaining 0.71% amid renewed interest following the US Fed's rate cut. The Nifty FMCG index also saw a bounce-back, rising by 0.31%, while the Nifty Pharma and Nifty Auto indices ended the day flat.

Among individual stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra led the gains, surging 2.9% after exceeding Q2 earnings expectations. Other gainers included Titan Company, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Nestle India, and HUL. Trent, however, continued its downtrend, closing 3.2% lower following weak Q2 results.