The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday were trading lower tracking mixed Asian cues. At 10 am, the BSE Sensex fell 321 points to 72,821. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 22,120, down 92 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Wipro, Airtel, TechM, Titan emerged gainers. On the flip side, L&T, PowerGrid, Tata Motors, M&M, SBI, Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index rose 0.2 per cent while Smallcap gained 0.4 per cent.
Sectorally, bank, IT, realty, metal, oil & gas fell by 0.5-1 per cent each.
In the previous session on Friday, the BSE Sensex closed at 73,143, down 15 points, while the NSE Nifty50 settled at 22,213, down 5 points.
Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said Asian shares were mixed near seven-month highs on Monday as investors awaited inflation data from the US, Japan, and Europe that will help refine expectations for future rate moves. "China's new home prices fell for the seventh month in January, leaving sentiment fragile as policymakers' efforts to restore confidence in the debt-ridden sector struggled for traction," he said.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, "Sustained buying by DIIs (Rs 21,700 crore in February so far) supported by HNIs and retail investors has completely eclipsed the FII selling. FIIs have lost in this tug of war with DIIs since the market has been scaling new highs despite FII selling."
On Friday, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers as they purchased securities worth Rs 1,276.09 crore.
On Monday, Asian stock markets showed a varied pattern. Japan's Nikkei continued its record-breaking streak, rising by 0.5 per cent, while Taiwan saw a 0.2 per cent increase. Conversely, the Hang Seng, Shanghai, Kospi, and Straits Times experienced declines ranging from 0.5 to 1 per cent.
During the weekend, benchmark indices in the US concluded on a positive note, driven by Nvidia's performance. The Dow and the S&P 500 reached new highs; however, they relinquished some gains by the close due to concerns about potential delays in rate cuts. Strong economic growth and heightened inflation were contributing factors to these worries.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee saw a modest gain of 2 paise, reaching 82.89 against the US dollar. This uptick was attributed to an influx of foreign funds and a decline in crude oil prices in the global market. However, forex analysts noted that the domestic currency faced pressure from a subdued sentiment in the equity market and the strengthening of the US dollar.
Beginning at 82.88 against the greenback at the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee slightly weakened to 82.89, marking a marginal improvement of 2 paise compared to its previous close. On the previous trading day, Friday, the rupee had concluded at 82.91 against the US dollar, experiencing a decline of 6 paise.