Indian equity markets are set to begin Thursday’s session on a weak note, with benchmark indices trading in the red during the pre-open session, signalling a cautious start after Wednesday’s largely flat close.
As of 9:11 AM, the BSE Sensex was at 83,968.43, down 265.21 points or 0.31 per cent, while the NSE Nifty50 stood at 25,906.70, lower by 47.15 points or 0.18 per cent. The Sensex rang the opening bell close to 300 points down, testing 83,950, while the Nifty benchmark breached 25,900 and fell more than 75 points, around 9:15 AM.
On the Sensex portal, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Axis Bank, ITC, and Tata Steel emerged among the gainers. On the other hand, Infosys, Tech M, HCL Tech, TCS, and Eternal opened trading among the laggards.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Smallcap100 index climbed 0.63 per cent. Sectorally, the IT and Midsmall IT & Telecom indices crashed 3.43 per cent and 2.46 per cent respectively.
The subdued pre-open mood follows a choppy session on Wednesday, when both indices ended almost unchanged despite sharp intra-day swings.
Benchmarks End Flat After Volatile Trade
On Wednesday, the Sensex slipped 40.28 points, or 0.05 per cent, to close at 84,233.64. During the session, the index moved in a narrow range, touching a high of 84,487.34 and a low of 84,081.25.
The Nifty inched up 18.70 points, or 0.07 per cent, to settle at 25,953.85, extending its winning streak to a fourth consecutive session, albeit with modest gains.
Market breadth remained weak, with 2,316 stocks declining on the BSE compared to 1,913 advancing, while 154 remained unchanged.
Analysts Flag Consolidation After Recent Rally
Market experts believe domestic equities could enter a consolidation phase after the strong rally witnessed earlier this week, driven by optimism around the US–India trade deal.
“Domestic equities may enter a brief consolidation phase following this week's strong rally driven by the US-India trade deal. Market attention has shifted back to mixed Q3 results, upcoming monthly inflation data, and finer details of the trade agreement, which is reportedly nearing finalisation,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd.
He added that strength in the auto and healthcare sectors reflects better-than-expected earnings, while IT stocks underperformed amid a global selloff linked to AI-related volatility.
Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said Indian equity benchmarks ended largely flat in a choppy session, with the Nifty rising marginally by 0.07 per cent amid mixed sectoral cues and ongoing profit booking in select pockets.
Nandish Shah, Deputy Vice President at HDFC Securities, noted that all sectoral indices closed positive except IT and private banks, with Healthcare, Auto, PSU Banks and Pharma posting the strongest gains.