The Indian stock market looked set for a volatile trading session on Tuesday. The BSE Sensex rang the opening bell near 84,800, tanking 81 points, while the NSE Nifty50 began the day below 25,950, slipped close to 20 points, around 9:15 AM. The GIFT Nifty, however, gave indications of a positive session ahead for equities.
On the 30-share Sensex, BEL, Eternal, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, and Tata Steel emerged among the gainers. On the other hand, the laggards included PowerGrid, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, and Tech M.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap Select stood out with gains of 0.25 per cent. Sectorally, the Realty index dominated after it jumped more than 1 per cent. Meanwhile, the Media index took a fall of 0.51 per cent.
"Nifty now holds immediate support at 25,850–25,800, a zone increasingly acting as an accumulation area for medium-term participants,” market watchers said. “On the upside, resistance is placed at 26,050–26,100, a supply zone that has consistently restricted intraday recoveries,” analysts added.
Foreign Flows, Global Markets, And Oil Prices
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to pare exposure to Indian equities, offloading Rs 4,171.75 crore worth of shares on Monday, as per exchange data. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) stepped in with purchases worth Rs 4,512.87 crore in the previous session, offering some support to the market.
According to V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, Nifty’s push to surpass its September 2024 peak and chart fresh record levels is encountering a hurdle. “Nifty’s attempt to break the 2024 September high and set new record is facing resistance particularly from resumption of big FII selling which touched Rs 4,171 crore in the cash market yesterday,” he said.
Asian equities traded mostly higher on Tuesday, with South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng all in the green. Overnight, US markets also ended sharply higher. Meanwhile, Brent crude slipped 0.38 per cent to $63.13 a barrel.
How Did Markets Fare Yesterday?
In the previous session on Monday, both benchmarks dragged the market lower, with Nifty falling below the 26K mark. After holding modest gains through most of the day, investors turned cautious in the final stretch of trade.
The Sensex ended 331.21 points down, or 0.39 per cent, closing just under the 85,000 level at 84,900.71. The Nifty also lost ground, declining 108.65 points, or 0.42 per cent, to settle at 25,959.50.
Back home, Nifty slipped below the 26,000 mark on Monday as persistent selling weighed on sentiment, raising questions over whether the recent uptrend is losing steam and if the index can bounce back after two consecutive weak sessions. The mood is further pressured by Rs 18,013 crore in FII outflows so far in November and the overhang of uncertainty around the India–US trade deal.
“Sentiment is dampened by Rs 18,013 crore of FII outflows in November and uncertainty around the India–US trade deal…,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.