Stock Market Today: Sensex Down About 100 Points, Nifty At 24,400 Ahead Of RBI MPC Announcements

Sector-wise, Nifty IT advanced by 0.8 per cent, while Nifty Auto and FMCG gained 0.1 per cent each. On the downside, Nifty Pharma declined by 0.5 per cent

India's benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, continued their upward trend for the fifth consecutive session on Thursday, buoyed by gains in Asian and global markets. The return of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) following two months of significant selling also contributed to a positive market sentiment.

At 10.00 am, the Sensex dropped by 50.89 points, or 0.06 per cent, to reach 80,905.44, while the Nifty fell by 35.60 points, or 0.15 per cent, settling at 24,431.85. Of the total shares, 1,701 advanced, 1,440 declined, and 114 remained unchanged.

Airtel, TCS, Tech M, Infosys, and Titan were among the Sensex gainers. On the other hand, NTPC, Power Grid, JSW Steel, Nestle, and Asian Paints are among the top losers.

FIIs invested a total of Rs 13,000 crore in Indian equities on December 2 and 3, according to NSDL data, followed by an additional Rs 1,797 crore on December 4, as per NSE provisional figures. This comes after substantial FII outflows of Rs 94,017 crore in October and Rs 21,612 crore in November.

Global equities saw a boost, driven by optimistic comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about the US economy and a surge in US tech stocks, despite ongoing uncertainties in South Korea and France. Powell described the US economy as being in “remarkably good shape” and indicated that the Fed could adopt a cautious approach toward lowering interest rates to a neutral level. His remarks fueled market optimism, pushing the Dow Jones past 45,000 for the first time, underscoring the resilience of the US market rally.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, pointed out that the strong growth and declining inflation in the US are driving the current rally, but he also expressed concerns over the stretched valuations in both the US and Indian markets. He stressed the need for caution in such market conditions. Additionally, he highlighted that the resurgence of FII buying is supporting large-cap stocks, particularly in the banking sector, which could push the Bank Nifty to record highs and further boost the broader Nifty index.

Investors are now awaiting the Reserve Bank of India's bi-monthly policy review on Friday. Experts indicate that the central bank is widely expected to maintain its policy rates unchanged for the 11th consecutive meeting.