The SENSEX finished the session 8 points lower at 73,599, while the NIFTY50 slipped 3 points to settle at 22,750. Both benchmarks traded within a band of 584 points, with the NIFTY50 touching an intraday high of 22,830 and a low of 22,636 as October futures and option contracts expired. The market closed flat overall, with gains in Bharti Airtel, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid and Trent offset by losses in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Bajaj Finance.

The National Stock Exchange’s 15 major sector gauges saw 10 rise, led by the NIFTY Media index which gained 3.66%. NIFTY Pharma, Auto, FMCG, Metal, PSU Bank, Realty, Healthcare and Consumer Durables indices also climbed between 0.6% and 1.94%. Conversely, the NIFTY Bank, Financial Services, IT and Private Bank indices closed lower. In broader markets, the NIFTY Midcap 100 index advanced 1% and the NIFTY Smallcap 100 index surged 2.66%, outperforming their larger peers.

Among individual stocks, VA Tech Wabag surged 9.07% after announcing a ‘Mega’ order from Reliance Industries for the design, engineering, supply, installation, pre‑commissioning, commissioning and performance guarantee test run of a desalination plant at Jamnagar, Gujarat. Aequs fell 18.9% to ₹196.50 as its consolidated net loss widened in Q2 FY27. Transformers and Rectifiers (India) advanced 7.4% to ₹321.85 after declaring a ₹1,250 crore investment to build three greenfield plants at its Chiyada complex in Gujarat. KFin Technologies jumped 6.6% to ₹844, with September quarter net profit rising 7.5% annually to ₹100 crore.

Tata Consumer Products topped the NIFTY50 gains, rising 6.78% to ₹1,000 after its September quarter net profit climbed 16% to ₹470 crore and revenue from operations grew 14% to ₹5,661 crore, recording an underlying volume growth of 11%. Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, BSE, Trent, Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid, Eternal, BEL, Max Healthcare, Titan and Jio Financial Services also advanced between 1% and 3.2%. On the downside, Asian Paints, Coal India, Grasim Industries, State Bank of India, TCS, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life and Tata Motors PV were the top losers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth remained positive, with 2,455 shares ending higher while 1,103 closed lower on the NSE. NIFTY50 index advanced 0.15% and NIFTY Bank index slipped 0.52% in the October futures and option series, reflecting the mixed performance of the broader market. The session concluded with the SENSEX and NIFTY50 settling on a flat note, as gains in several large‑cap names were offset by losses in other major banks and IT firms. The market’s rangebound nature was evident as the indices traded within a narrow band, underscoring the cautious sentiment among investors.