Stock Market Trades Flat: Sensex Sinks 194 Points, Nifty Holds 17,800. IT Stocks Drag

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, TCS, TechM, Wipro, HDFC were in the red in early morning trade

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday opened flat ahead of January inflation data. At 9.30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 194 points to 60,488. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 17,809, down 47 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, TCS, TechM, Wipro, HDFC were in the red in early morning trade. On the flip side, Titan, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, L&T, Airtel, and NTPC emerged winners.

Among individual stocks, shares of Oil India rallied 8 per cent after the company reported the highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 1,746.10 crore in Q3FY23. Shares of Glenmark Pharma surged over 3 per cent after the company reported 21.3 per cent rise in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 290.8 crore in Q3FY23.

In the broader markets, Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indices declined up to 0.3 per cent.

Volatility index, India VIX, meanwhile, jumped 3 per cent.

Sectorwise, Nifty Metal and Nifty Auto indices were off to a positive start, whereas Nifty IT index was the worst hit as it lowered up to 0.7 per cent.

In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 124 points (0.2 per cent) to end at 60,682. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 closed at 17,857, down 37 points (0.2 per cent).

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 17 paise to 82.75 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by a strong American currency and a muted trend in domestic equities. Firm crude oil prices further dented investor sentiments, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.68 against the dollar, then fell to 82.75, registering a decline of 17 paise over its last close. In the previous session on Friday, the rupee settled at 82.58 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.15 per cent to 103.78.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.83 per cent to $85.67 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Friday as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,458.02 crore, according to exchange data.