Indian Shares Mixed In Cautious Trade; Tech Stocks Rise, Automobiles In Reverse Gear

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are turning in a mixed performance Thursday morning as the mood remains cautious due to elevated oil prices and higher U.S. bond yields amid persisting concerns about the situation in the Middle East and rate hike fears, as well as heavy selling by foreign investors over the past several sessions.

FPIs sold shares worth a net Rs 10,150 crore on Wednesday (October 30) after pulling out Rs 9,940 crore a day earlier.

Bank and technology stocks are finding support, while automobile, FMCG and cement stocks are showing weakness.

The benchmark BSE Sensex, which advanced to 72,572.90 from an early low of 72,187.62, was down 83.39 points or 0.12% at 72,396.90 a little while ago.

The broader Nifty50 index of the National Stock Exchange was down 43.50 points or 0.19% at 22,577.55.

Kotak Bank is up nearly 3%. HDFC Bank is up by about 1% and Axis Bank is gaining 0.85%. State Bank of India is up marginally, while ICICI Bank is slightly weak.

IT major Infosys is up 2.5%. The company has extended its strategic partnership with ABN Amro to support the bank in expanding the adoption of artificial intelligence across its operations.

Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies are gaining 2% and 1.9%, respectively. Tech Mahindra is up nearly 1%.

The Nifty Auto index is down nearly 2.3%. Bajaj Auto is down as much as 7.3% as vehicles sales dropped by 9% in September.

Eicher Motors, Ashok Leyland, TVS Motor, Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles are down 1.4%-2.3%.

The Nifty Cement is down 2.1%. Grasim Industries is down 3.4%. UltraTech Cement, JK Cement, Ramco Cement, Shree Cement, Ambuja Cement, JSW Cement, Birla Corporation and India Cements are down 1%-2.5%, while ACC is down marginally.

Eternal is declining by about 2%, while BEL, ITC, Power Grid Corporation, Tata Steel, Hind Unilever, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance are down 1%-1.6%.

Tata Consumer Products, HDFC Life, BSE, Cipla and Sun Pharmaceuticals are up in positive territory, while Shriram Finance, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises, Coal India, Jio Financial Services and Hindalco are weak.

The market breadth is weak. On BSE, 2,298 stocks are down in negative territory. 1,463 stocks have advanced, while 253 stocks are little changed from previous closing levels.