The equity benchmark BSE Sensex opened on Monday at 65,419.02, marking a marginal increase over the previous close on Friday. The NSE Nifty50, on the other hand, opened trading at 19,521.60, registering a slight dip from the last trading session’s close.
At 9:37 am, Sensex was trading at 65,373.57, at a loss of 24.05 points, while the Nifty50 was trading at 19,530.85, down by 11.80 points. The domestic markets felt the impact of negative Asian markets and the increasing conflict in the Middle East.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India, Power Grid, and M&M emerged among the early gainers. While, Kotak Bank, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, L&T, and TCS registered among the early losers. Among specific stocks, ICICI Bank shares increased 1.02 per cent after the bank reported a record-high quarterly profit in it’s earnings last week for the quarter ended September.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index was down 0.36 per cent and the Smallcap index declined 1.07 per cent. All the broader Nifty indices were trading in red, with the Nifty Microcap 50 down by 1.75 per cent. Sectorwise, Nifty Media and Realty indices registered the maximum drop in early trade, and both were down by 1.55 and 1.12 per cent respectively. On the other hand, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Financial Services 25/50 emerged among the few gainers, with an increase of 0.25 per cent each.
In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex hit a low of 65,309 during the day. The benchmark finally settled at 65,398, dropping 232 points. In the last three consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex has shed 1,031 points. The NSE Nifty50, on the other hand, hit a low of 19,519 during intraday, and closed with a loss of 82 points at 19,543.
Asian markets opened Monday trading in red after the Israel-Palestine conflict continued to dampen investor sentiments. The US markets ended lower on Friday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.89 per cent to $91.34 per barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 456.21 crore on Friday, data from the exchanges revealed. Notably, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have withdrawn over Rs 12,000 crore from Indian equities this month, as of October 20.