India's blue-chip stocks slide to near four-month lows amid global economic concerns 

India's prominent blue-chip stocks faced a decline for the sixth consecutive session, as escalating selling pressure, coupled with heightened U.S. Treasury yields and apprehensions regarding the Middle East conflict, weighed on market sentiment.

According to a Reuters report, the NSE (National Stock Exchange) Nifty 50 index settled 1.39 per cent lower at 18,857.25, marking its first close below the 19,000 mark since June 28. The S&P BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) Sensex experienced a 1.41 per cent drop, concluding at 63,148.15. Over the past six sessions, these benchmarks have collectively lost nearly 5 per cent of their value, driving the Nifty into oversold territory for the first time in 16 months.

Only four of the Nifty 50 stocks managed to advance. The entire spectrum of 13 major sectoral indexes recorded losses, with high-weightage sectors like banks and IT shedding 1.29 per cent and 1 per cent respectively. A significant portion of the IT sector's decline was attributed to Tech Mahindra, which experienced a substantial 2.34 per cent fall following its largest profit decline in over 16 years. Adani Enterprises also lost 2.38 per cent amid reports that India's accounting regulator had initiated an investigation into one of the Adani group's auditors.

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The small-cap and mid-cap segments, which had been outperforming their larger counterparts in recent times, were not immune to the market turmoil. These segments experienced losses of 0.34 per cent and 1.16 per cent respectively. The regional impact was evident, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index shedding 1.25 per cent. India's volatility index rose by 3.69 per cent to reach 11.73 at the close, marking its highest level in over three weeks.

Avinash Gorakshakar, the Head of Research at Profitmart Securities, told Reuters, "Domestic equities have been under pressure over the past two weeks because of worries that if the (West Asia) conflict continued for a long time, it would have adverse repercussions for the global economy and markets." He further added that "elevated U.S. treasury yields could trigger an extended period of foreign outflows."

The downward trajectory extended to individual stock performances. Asian Paints and McDonald's franchisee Westlife Foodworld dropped by 3.28 per cent and 1.81 per cent respectively after failing to meet profit estimates for the second quarter. However, private lender Axis Bank managed to gain 1.74 per cent following a positive outcome in the September quarter, driven by strong loan growth.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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