Markets witness a roller-coaster ride in Oct; banking, realty stocks gain

After gaining as much as 8 per cent, the benchmark indices gave up half the gains to end October with a net 4 per cent gain.

At one point, the markets was less than 3 per cent shy of new record highs. However, rising infections in Europe and the US, coupled with a delay in US stimulus announcements, caused a pullback.

The high-beta banking and realty stocks were among major gainers. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was the biggest drag on market performance, with shares dropping 8 per cent.

Overseas investors started off as aggressive buyers but turned net sellers during the fag end of the month.

Mutual funds pulled out nearly Rs 12,000 crore, amid outflows in equity schemes. The India VIX also surged ahead of next week's US elections.