The Indian stock market again opened in the red on Friday amid growing geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel and weak global cues. In early trade, selling was seen in the Information Technology (IT), auto, pharma and Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) bank sectors.

The Sensex was trading at 80,752.18 after slipping 254.43 points or 0.31 per cent. At the same time, the Nifty opened trading at 24,675.30 after falling 74.55 points or 0.3 per cent.

The market trend remained negative. On the NSE, 283 stocks were trading in the green, while 1,941 stocks were trading in the red. At the same time, 588 stocks were trading in green and 2,166 stocks were trading in red on the BSE.

The Indian benchmark indices closed in red on Thursday as there was a weak sentiment in the market due to lower corporate earnings.

The BSE Sensex closed at 81,006.61 after slipping 494.75 points or 0.61 per cent.

NSE Nifty closed at 24,749.85 after slipping 221.45 points or 0.89 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed in the red at 58,465.95 after slipping 985,90 points or 1.66 per cent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 19,065 after slipping 238.95 points or 1.24 per cent. Nifty Bank closed at 24,749.85 after slipping 512.25 points or 0.99 per cent.

All sectors of Nifty except IT were under pressure. There was selling in all sectors like Auto, PSU Bank, Fin Services, Pharma, FMCG, Metal, Media, Private Bank, Realty, Infra, Energy, Healthcare and Oil & Gas. The market trend remained negative.

The Railway Ministry has reduced the time limit for advance reservation of tickets from 120 days to 60 days, excluding the day of the journey, from November 1, 2024, an official circular said.

The circular, which appears to be aimed at reducing the administrative load linked to cancellations and checking alleged wrongdoings by travel agents, was issued by Railways Director/Passenger Marketing-II Sanjay Manocha, who clarified that there will be no change in the limit of 365 days for foreign tourists.

The reduced period of advance reservation of ticket would also not impact bookings made before October 31, 2024. “All bookings done up to October 31 under the ARP of 120 days will remain intact,” said the circular.

The Railways said despite the reduction in the time limit for advance reservations, cancellation of bookings made beyond the ARP of 60 days will be permitted.

The Indian benchmark indices closed in the red on Wednesday as auto, IT, and PSU banks remained under pressure.

The BSE Sensex closed at 81,501.36, down 318.76 points or 0.39 per cent.

NSE Nifty closed at 24,971.30, down 86.05 points or 0.34 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index settled at 59,451.85, down 141.40 points or 0.24 per cent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed with a gain at 19,304.90, up 2.85 points or 0.01 per cent. Nifty Bank closed at 51,801.05 after slipping 104.95 points or 0.20 per cent.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the increase in the minimum support prices (MSP) for all mandated Rabi crops for marketing season 2025-26.

The absolute highest increase in MSP has been announced for rapeseed and mustard at Rs 300 per quintal, followed by lentil (masur) at Rs 275 per quintal.

For gram, wheat, safflower, and barley, there is an increase of Rs 210 per quintal, Rs 150 per quintal, Rs 140 per quintal and Rs 130 per quintal, respectively, according to the CCEA.

Union Cabinet led by PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved a 3 per cent increase in dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for Central government employees and pensioners.

The latest hike raises the DA or DR from 50 per cent to 53 per cent. The increase will come into effect from 1 July.

This decision is a major relief for Central government employees ahead of Diwali.

The biannual revision of DA and DR, which impacts approximately one crore Central government employees and pensioners, aims to mitigate the effects of inflation.

The Indian stock market began trading on a lower note on Wednesday, as Nestle and Infosys were among the top losers in the morning trade.

The BSE Sensex began trading at 81,611.07 after slipping 209.05 points or 0.26 per cent in early trade. At the same time, the NSE Nifty was trading at 24,999.45 after slipping 57.90 points or 0.23 per cent.

However, the market trend remained positive. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 687 stocks were trading in the green, while 555 stocks were trading in the red.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 61 stocks were trading in the green and 52 stocks were trading in the red.

The Indian stock market opened on a positive note on Tuesday, and except for auto and metal, all other sectoral indices were trading in the green.

The BSE Sensex reached 82,189.42 after rising 216.37 points or 0.26 per cent in early trade. At the same time, NSE Nifty was trading at 25,189.25 after gaining 61.30 points or 0.24 per cent.

The market trend remained positive. On the NSE, 1,323 stocks were trading well, while 721 stocks were in the red.

On the BSE, 1,689 stocks were trading in the green and 852 stocks were in the red in the morning trade.

India's wholesale price inflation stood at 1.84 per cent in the month of September, primarily due to increase in prices of food articles and some manufacturing areas, the government said on Monday.

In August, the wholesale inflation came at 1.31 per cent and 2.04 per cent in July. The month-over-month change in WPI index for the month of September stood at 0.06 per cent as compared to August.

The WPI increase in September was due to the increase in prices of food articles, food products, other manufacturing, manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, manufacture of machinery and equipment, etc.

The WPI for primary articles increased by 0.41 per cent to 195.7 in September from 194.9 in August. Prices of minerals (1.83 per cent), non-food articles (1.31 per cent) and food articles (0.86 per cent) increased in September as compared to August.

After being stalled due to hurricane Milton, NASA’s Europa Clipper mission aims to fly to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa in search of life on Monday, SpaceX has said.

Europa Clipper will launch its first mission aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida at 12:05 p.m. ET. (9:35 pm IST) . It was earlier scheduled to fly on October 10.

“The spacecraft will help scientists determine if Europa’s salty ocean harbours the ingredients for life,” SpaceX said.

The Elon Musk-led company said it is the sixth and final flight for the first stage side boosters supporting this mission. The boosters previously assisted in the launch of USSF-44, USSF-67, USSF-52, Hughes JUPITER 3, and NASA’s Psyche mission.