FINAL TRADE: Nifty ends sluggish, Sensex down 45 pts; BPCL up 3%, Dr Reddy's down 3%

Stock market today: Domestic equity benchmarks Nifty50 and Sensex settled near the flat line on Wednesday, May 8 amid a volatile trade. The leaner Sensex index was down 45.46 points, or 0.06 per cent, to settle at 73,466.39 while the 50-share index Nifty settled at 22,302.5. 

Among the Nifty50 companies, 25 stocks were advancing while 24 stocks were declining. BPCL, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors, Hindalco and Coal India led the gains, while Dr Reddy's, Asain Paints, Grasim, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank were the top decliners.

"The Indian market echoed subdued investor sentiments akin to those of its Asian peers, and on worries about declining voter turnout. Despite domestic Q4 earnings largely meeting estimates, the earnings landscape appears to be moderating," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said. 

"A sector-specific action was visible in FMCG and auto stocks, aided by an expectation of a revival in rural demand in H1FY25," he added.

In addition, sectoral indices ended mixed, with the Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services declining 0.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent while Nifty Auto gained 1.56 per cent, respectively. Nifty SmallCap 100 and Nifty MidCap 100 gained nearly one per cent each.

Meanwhile, drugmaker Dr Reddy's was the top loser on the Nifty 50, dropping over 3 per cent after its Q4 results, with analysts flagging that its core business missed expectations. Read more

Global Market

Europe's benchmark stock index hit a record high on Wednesday, on continued cheer over strong earnings from the likes of beer maker Anheuser-Busch Inbev and Germany's Siemens Energy, while investors also mulled the fate of major central bank rate cuts.

The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) rose 0.3 per cent of 0830 GMT to a record high, following Tuesday's more than 1 per cent jump. The STOXX 600 has regained some lost ground, after losing steam in April, as corporate earnings have been resilient, the European Central Bank is confident of a likely first rate cut in June and as Middle East tensions are somewhat ebbing.

(with inputs from Reuters)

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