Benchmarks trim losses; Nifty reclaims 22,700 mark
The key equity benchmarks trimmed losses in afternoon trade, with the Nifty reclaiming the 22,700 level after hitting an intraday low of 22,497.70 in early trade. Oil & gas, IT and FMCG stocks declined, while auto and healthcare shares bucked the weak market trend.
At 13:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 284.92 points or 0.39% to 73,313.75. The Nifty 50 index fell 33.85 points or 0.15% to 22,714.55.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index increased 0.60% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.49%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,234 shares rose and 1,882 shares fell. A total of 260 shares were unchanged.
Buzzing Segment:
The Nifty Oil & Gas index declined 1.89% to 10,337.30. Among the index constituents, Aegis Logistics (down 5.26%), Chennai Petroleum Corporation (down 3.55%), Petronet LNG (down 3.19%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (down 2.40%) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (down 2.37%) were the top losers. Other laggards included Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 2.13%), Oil India (down 1.85%), Reliance Industries (down 1.83%), Aegis Vopak Terminals (down 1.40%) and Indian Oil Corporation (down 1.31%).
On the other hand, Indraprastha Gas gained 1.68%, Mahanagar Gas rose 0.53%, while GAIL (India) edged up 0.01%.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Hindustan Unilever declined 1.54%, despite reporting healthy revenue growth and improved profitability for the September quarter of FY27. The company reported a 3.91% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,790 crore in Q2 FY27 compared with Rs 2,685 crore in Q2 FY26. Revenue from operations climbed 14.78% YoY to Rs 18,037 crore in Q2 FY27.
The company's underlying sales growth (USG) stood at 15%, while underlying volume growth (UVG) came in at 7%. The company?s board declared a interim dividend of Rs 19 per share for FY27. The record date has been fixed as 12 November 2026.
PG Electroplast shares surged 8.18% after the company reported a 395.2% year-on-year increase in consolidated net income to Rs 13.67 crore in Q2 FY27. Sales increased 42.5% year on year to Rs 933.88 crore from Rs 655.37 crore in Q2 FY26.
United Breweries shares jumped 8.40% after the company reported a 190% year-on-year increase in standalone net profit to Rs 136 crore in Q2 FY27. Standalone net sales rose 24% year on year to Rs 2,536 crore from Rs 2,051 crore. Growth was supported by higher sales volumes, premiumisation, pricing actions and a favourable product and geographic mix.
Global Market:
Dow futures fell 136 points, signalling a higher opening for US stocks.
Most European shares advanced on Wednesday as investors assessed corporate earnings, elevated oil prices and awaited the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
European investors are also awaiting the European Central Bank's policy decision on Thursday, 29 October 2026.
Most Asian indices advanced on Wednesday, as renewed optimism over artificial intelligence demand lifted technology stocks ahead of earnings from major US technology companies and the Federal Reserve's policy decision.
South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix's record quarterly results strengthened sentiment towards semiconductor stocks. The company reported a sharp increase in revenue and operating profit, driven by demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI infrastructure.
US stocks advanced on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, as AI-related shares rallied and investors assessed corporate earnings ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy announcement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 15.99 points, or 0.03%, to 52,377.57. The S&P 500 gained 45.83 points, or 0.60%, to 7,722.60, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 308.43 points, or 1.18%, to 26,477.81.
Broadcom gained after announcing a $63 billion financing arrangement involving Bank of America, Blackstone, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley to fund AI computing capacity for Anthropic. The deal highlights the scale of financing now supporting AI infrastructure investment.
SK Hynix reported preliminary third-quarter revenue of 104.62 trillion won, up 327.9% year on year, while operating profit surged 557.2% to 83.33 trillion won. Net profit rose 215.7% to 39.78 trillion won. Revenue and operating profit reached record levels as demand for high-bandwidth memory and other AI-related products lifted chip prices.
Investors are now awaiting third-quarter results from Alphabet and Microsoft, due after the US market closes on Wednesday.
The Conference Board's US Consumer Confidence Index rose 7.5 points to 91.7 in October from a revised 84.2 in September, exceeding the Reuters poll forecast of 81. The improvement reflected better assessments of current business conditions and the near-term outlook, although concerns about living costs persisted.
US durable goods orders increased 1.8% in September, below the 2.0% forecast in one market calendar but above August's 0.1% increase. Excluding transportation, orders rose 0.5%. New single-family home sales declined 0.6% to an annualised rate of 676,000 units, exceeding the 650,000 forecast. The data pointed to resilience in parts of the economy, although durable goods orders missed the cited consensus estimate.
The Federal Reserve is due to announce its policy decision on Wednesday. Markets widely expect interest rates to remain unchanged, with investors looking for guidance on the future rate path amid inflation concerns and higher energy prices.
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