Sensex ends flat, Hindustan Unilever among top losers

Mumbai, Oct 24 : The Indian stock market closed flat on Thursday as selling was seen in the auto and IT sectors, with Hindustan Unilever Ltd being among the top losers, after it reported a 4 per cent drop in standalone net profit for Q2 at Rs 2,612 crore.

The Sensex closed at 80,065.16 after falling 16.82 points or 0.02 per cent.

At the same time, Nifty closed at 24,399.40 after falling 36.10 points or 0.15 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 56,349.75 at the end of trading after slipping 183.80 points or 0.33 per cent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 18,249.15 after slipping 37.50 points or 0.20 per cent. Nifty Bank closed at 51,531.15 after climbing 292.15 points or 0.57 per cent.

Selling was seen in the auto, IT, MCG, metal, realty and media sectors of Nifty. At the same time, buying was seen in PSU banks, fin services, pharma, energy, private banks, infra, and commodities.

On the BSE, 1,590 stocks were trading in the green, 2,343 stocks in the red, and 100 stocks closed without any change.

UltraTech Cement, M&M, Titan, Adani Ports, SBI, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, HDFC Bank, NTPC, and Sun Pharma were the top gainers in the Sensex pack. At the same time, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Nestle India, ITC, Maruti, and Asian Paints were the top losers. UltraTech Cement, Shriram Finance, M&M, Grasim, Titan, Adani Ports, BEL, SBI, Bajaj Finance and Power Grid were the top gainers in the Nifty pack. Hindustan Unilever Ltd, SBI Life, Hindalco, Nestle India, Bajaj Auto, Britannia and Maruti were the top losers.

According to market experts, despite persistent selloffs by FIIs, the benchmark indices recorded only a minor loss, as India’s October PMI data continued to indicate healthy growth, which also supports the RBI's growth guidelines for FY25.

The FMCG sector faced declines attributed to delayed demand recovery and margin pressures, said market watchers.