The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday opened in the red, tracking weak sentiments from global markets. The domestic indices pared some of their heavy losses, however, still trading in the negative zone. At 9.40 am, the BSE Sensex fell 92 points to 65,690. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 19,502, down 24 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, UltraCemco, HUL, Tata Steel, JSW Steel emerged early losers. On the flip side, Sun Pharma, NTPC, HDFC Bank, L&T, ITC, HCL, and Bajaj Finance were among the gainers. Among specific stocks, shares of Sanghi Industries rallied 3 per cent after Ambuja Cements entered into inter-corporate deposit agreement with the firm.
In the broader markets, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices sank up to 0.3 per cent.
Sectorwise, Nifty Pharma index gained the most (up 1 per cent), while Nifty Realty index was the worst hit (down 1 per cent).
In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 65,783, down 677 points, while the Nifty50 settled at 19,527, down 207 points.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory. The US markets ended lower on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,877.84 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.11 per cent to $83.29 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 5 paise to 82.72 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday as a negative trend in domestic equities and firm crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments. Sustained foreign fund outflows, strength of the American currency in the overseas market further dented sentiments, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.71, then touched 82.72, registering a decline of 5 paise over its last close. On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 82.67 against the dollar, registering a fall of 45 paise from its previous close.