Markets Gear Up For Another Heavy Day, Sensex Opens Below 81,600

In the pre-open session, the Sensex tumbled 170 points to breach 81,550, and the Nifty fell over 100 points to touch 24,940, around 9:02 AM.

Indian markets looked set to enter yet another trading session in red on Thursday. The BSE Sensex started the day under 81,600, crashing more than 100 points , while the NSE Nifty50 rang in the opening bell at 25,033, falling 24 points, around 9:15 AM.

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On the 30-share Sensex, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, BEL, ICICI Bank, and HUL settled among the gainers today. On the other hand, the laggards included Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Maruti, Eternal, and Titan.

In the broader markets, it was a sea of red across the indices. The Nifty Microcap250 dominated after it slid 0.42 per cent. Sectorally, the Auto index crashed 0.68 per cent, while the FMCG index climbed 0.41 per cent.

Notably, the GIFT Nifty gave indications of a muted session ahead for equities. Around 7:36 AM, the Nifty futures traded near 25,070, slipping almost 50 points. In the pre-open session, the Sensex tumbled 170 points to breach 81,550, and the Nifty fell over 100 points to touch 24,940, around 9:02 AM.

 

"The significant drag on the market throughout this year has been the sustained selling by FIIs. The reforms being implemented in India, along with the low interest rate regime, have the potential to push economic growth and corporate earnings growth higher. This should bring FIIs back to the Indian market," explained VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited.

In the previous trading session on Wednesday, the equities ended lower for the fourth consecutive day, pressured by profit-taking in banking, auto and capital goods stocks, along with continued foreign fund outflows. Investor sentiment remained cautious amid concerns over US H-1B visa fee hikes, weak global cues, and elevated domestic valuations.

The Sensex fell 386.47 points, or 0.47 per cent, to settle at 81,715.63. The broader Nifty declined 112.60 points, or 0.45 per cent, to close at 25,056.90.

Over the past four sessions, the Sensex has tumbled 1,298.33 points, or 1.56 per cent, while the Nifty has lost 366.7 points, or 1.44 per cent.