Stock Market Today: Sensex Slips Over 100 Points; Nifty Tests 22,500. Metal Down, Realty Up

Stock market update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, TechM, HDFC Bank, Infosys, HUL emerged in the red during early trade

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday are trading lower amid weak global cues. At 9.40 am, the BSE Sensex declined 126 points to 73,993. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 22,464, down 29 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, TechM, HDFC Bank, Infosys, HUL emerged in the red during early trade. On the flip side, UltraCemco, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Airtel, JSW Steel, HCLTech were among the gainers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index advanced 0.31 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap index gained 0.14 per cent higher.

Sectorally, buying can be seen in Nifty Realty, Pharma, and FMCG indices. Nifty Metals dropped 0.6 per cent, while auto, bank, and IT indices also declined.

In the previous session on Friday, the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) remain closed on account of Mahashivratri.

"Since the market is scaling new highs consistently, the undertone of the market remains bullish and, therefore, investors should remain invested. Large caps are likely to witness buying on dips while the broader market will face headwinds," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

In the Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo experienced declines, contrasting with Hong Kong and Shanghai which traded positively. The US markets concluded on a downturn on Friday. The global oil benchmark Brent crude saw a decrease of 0.68 percent, reaching $81.52 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) made equity purchases amounting to Rs 7,304.11 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

In the meantime, the rupee engaged in range-bound trading against the US dollar at the start of the week, with support from fresh foreign fund inflows countered by a downward trend in domestic equities. Forex analysts noted the rupee's resilience, buoyed by a weakening dollar and declining crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee commenced trading at 82.74 against the dollar, before recovering to 82.64 against the greenback in early transactions, a 3 paise increase from its previous closing rate. On Thursday, the rupee had advanced by 16 paise to settle at 82.67 against the US dollar. The forex market remained closed on Friday due to Mahashivratri.