Nifty 50 hits five-month low as earnings disappoint; All eyes on CPI data

The stock indexes Nifty 50 and Sensex suffered heavy declines on Tuesday, with weak earnings reports dragging consumer goods and automotive stocks, while investors braced for a crucial inflation data for the month of October scheduled for later in the day.

The Nifty fell 258 points, or 1.07%, to close at 23,883, while the Sensex dropped 821 points, or 1.04%, to finish at 78,675.

Of the 50 Nifty constituents, 44 ended in the red.

The FMCG sector was under pressure, with the Nifty FMCG index falling 2%, led by weakness in Britannia, while other consumer stocks such as Asian Paints also extended losses after cutting their FY25 volume growth outlook.

In the auto sector, Samvardhana Motherson closed 5% lower, while Bosch slipped 5% ahead of its upcoming quarterly results.

Britannia Industries was the worst performer, down 7%, amid concerns over weak demand and volume pressure in the short term.

Motherson Sumi also saw a sharp 5% drop, as its second-quarter results missed analysts’ estimates.

Bharat Electronics (BEL) and NTPC were among the top losers, with both stocks shedding around 3%.

Despite the broader market weakness, a few stocks bucked the trend.

Jubilant Foodworks and Ramco Cements rose 5-6% after beating earnings estimates for Q2. UPL gained 2% on positive commentary for the second half of FY25.

The market breadth remained strongly negative, with the advance-decline ratio at 1:4, signaling broad-based weakness. All sectoral indices closed lower, with PSU and Auto sectors being the worst performers.

Investors now await the crucial consumer price inflation (CPI) data for October. According to a Reuters poll, CPI in India climbed to a 14-month high of 5.81% in October, primarily due to a spike in vegetable and edible oil prices—a shade below the central bank’s tolerance threshold of 6.0%.