FX.co ★ Sensex, Nifty End Slightly Lower In Volatile Trade

Indian equities experienced a marginal decline on Monday as investors processed a mix of earnings reports and contemplated the potential influence of the U.S. presidential elections on the Indian stock market. Notably, on Sunday, former President Trump surpassed Vice President Harris for the first time in the Decision Desk HQ/The Hill election forecast of the current cycle. The forecast model now suggests Trump has a 52 percent probability of securing the presidency, while Harris is at 42 percent, as of Sunday.

Geopolitical tensions continued to capture attention, with Israel conducting further airstrikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon, targeting facilities including those associated with a Hezbollah-linked bank. In response, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching additional rocket attacks on Sunday, directed at Israeli military installations.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex concluded the day down by 73.48 points at 81,151.27 following a volatile trading session. Additionally, the broader NSE Nifty index decreased by 73 points, or 0.3 percent, closing at 24,781.10.

In corporate earnings, Tata Consumer Products plummeted by 7.1 percent, while Kotak Mahindra Bank saw a 4.7 percent drop after both reported weaker-than-anticipated quarterly results. UltraTech Cement declined 2.1 percent after its Q2 profits fell 36 percent year-on-year, missing market expectations. IT sector shares, including HCL Technologies, TCS, and Infosys, experienced declines of 1 to 2 percent.

Conversely, Bajaj Auto, a two-wheeler manufacturer, surged by 4.3 percent following last week's downturn, as investors engaged in bargain hunting. Additionally, private bank HDFC Bank climbed 2.6 percent subsequent to releasing strong quarterly performance data.