Markets@10: Aster gains, HUL and Hindalco slide amid market volatility

The market opened slightly lower this morning, then rose before fluctuating and eventually declining further. The Sensex fell below 80,000 points, while the Nifty dropped below 24,400. It later showed some fluctuations.

In the first hour, the Nifty varied between 24,341 and 24,480, while the Sensex moved between 79,813 and 80,260. The Bank Nifty saw a gain of half a percent after some volatility, and mid and small-cap indices were marginally higher.

The FMCG index fell by 2% in the morning, and indices for IT, auto, and metals also faced losses. 

Hindustan Unilever reported lower sales and profits for the second quarter, leading to a 6% drop in its shares. Other consumer companies, including Nestlé, Britannia, Tata Consumer, Dabur, Marico, United Spirits, and ITC, also saw declines today.

KPIT Technologies shares dropped by 8% due to higher revenues but narrower profit margins. The company plans to raise Rs 2,880 crore by selling shares through a qualified institutional placement.

Conversely, Dr. Lal PathLabs gained 3% after better-than-expected results, while Thyrocare Technologies rose by 5%. However, Dr. Lal later lost 4% of its gains.

Some brokerages have raised the target price for Paytm stock to Rs 900. On the other hand, SBI Life shares fell by 5% due to results that were worse than expected.

Aster makes impressive gains

Aster DM Healthcare's shares rose by 13% after reporting higher profits and profit margins.

Hindalco shares fell by 7%, dropping below Rs 670. This was impacted by dismal results from French aluminium company Constellium, whose shares fell by 28% yesterday. Constellium has lowered its revenue expectations, citing decreased demand in the auto sector, which has led to concerns about the performance of Hindalco’s foreign subsidiary, Novelis. Yes Securities has issued a buy recommendation for Hindalco with a target price of Rs 775.

Escorts Kubota's railway business, Zona BLW Precision, saw gains of up to 10%, while Escorts Kubota itself declined.

The rupee began trading with slight gains today, with the dollar losing two paise to open at Rs 84.06, later changing to Rs 84.07.

Gold price drops

In global markets, gold is priced at $2,723. In Kerala, the price of jewellery gold dropped by Rs 440 to Rs 58,280.

Crude oil prices are rising, with Brent crude increasing by 1.5% to $75.95.