Share Market Highlights: Sensex, Nifty mark worst drop in over a month amid US election jitters

Sensex, Nifty updates on 4 November 2024: Indian equities saw their worst session in over a month on Monday, driven by heightened uncertainty around the U.S. presidential election and a spike in volatility, which reached a three-month high. The NSE Nifty 50 dropped 1.27% to 23,995.35, while the BSE Sensex declined 1.18% to 78,782.24, both indices posting their steepest single-day losses since October 3. The market downturn comes after a challenging October, where benchmarks shed about 6% due to record foreign outflows and lacklustre earnings. This followed a 15% rally over the prior four months, leaving markets overvalued by historical standards, analysts noted. As Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump remain close in opinion polls, the election outcome remains uncertain, with no clear winner expected immediately. Meanwhile, markets anticipate a 25-basis-point U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut on November 7, potentially boosting foreign inflows into emerging markets. The volatility index hit 16.69, while Sun Pharma and Hero MotoCorp led major declines.