The Indian benchmark indices on Thursday opened marginally lower, as the Sensex declined 121 points to open trade at 84,974.27 while the Nifty fell over 36 points to start trade at 25,949.65.
In the 30-share BSE Sensex, among the top gainers were stocks such as TCS, HCLTech, Bharat Electronics, TMPV and TechMahindra. Meanwhile, the laggards included stocks like Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Tata Steel, Trent and ICICI Bank.
In the broader markets, the Nifty India FPI 150 gained 0.17 per cent and the Nifty Microcap 250 fell 0.15 per cent. Sectorally, Nifty Auto and Nifty IT rose 0.63 per cent and the Nifty Media fell 0.80 per cent.
In the pre-open session, the Sensex was trading marginally above 85,000 or 87 points lower and the Nifty tested 26,000 trading 28 points lower around 9:03 AM.
The Gift Nifty was also trading at 26,070 at 8:52 AM.
Previously, during the closing session on Wednesday, the stock markets witnessed losses for the fourth consecutive day as the Sensex ended trade at 85,118.63 or over 19 points down and the Nifty closed at 25,985.10 or 47 points lower at 3:30 PM.
What Do Experts Say?
IT stocks recovered on Tuesday as the rupee slipped below 90 against the US dollar. TCS led the gains on the Sensex, rising 1.41 per cent, followed by Infosys, which gained 1.12 per cent. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank also ended higher, said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm.
However, the broader equity markets closed in the red. The continued depreciation of the rupee — which touched a fresh record low — prompted foreign portfolio investors to book profits, as the currency’s weakness eroded their dollar-adjusted returns, he added.
A late rebound in the final half hour helped pare losses, with the index closing at 25,986. Market sentiment remained weak as the rupee hit a record low against the US dollar, fuelling worries over rising import costs and prompting FII outflows. Caution ahead of the MPC meeting and mixed global cues further contributed to the subdued tone, said Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
Foreign Outflows
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,642.30 crore on Tuesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 4,645.94 crore, according to exchange data.