Stock Market: Sensex Slides 100 Points, Nifty Trades Below 17,450 On Muted Global Cues. IT, Auto Stocks Drag

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Infosys, Tata Motors, TechM, Airtel, HCL, Wirpo, TCS were trading in the red. NTPC, ICICI Bank, Nestle, SBI, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank emerged early winners

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday began trade lower tracking subdued global sentiments amid volatility. The Sensex, which sank 300 points in opening trade, recouped some of the losses, while the Nifty was trading below 17,400.

At 9.30 am, the Sensex dipped 100 points to 59, 364. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 17,429, down17 36 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Infosys, Tata Motors, TechM, Airtel, HCL, Wirpo, TCS were trading in the red. On the flip side, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Nestle, SBI, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank emerged early winners.

Among individual stocks, shares of SpiceJet gained over 1 per cent after the company clocked a fivefold surge in net profit in December quarter of FY23. Besides, shares of ABB India surged over 1 per cent after the company plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore in Indian business over the next five years.

In the broader markets, Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indices fell up to 0.4 per cent.

Apart from Nifty Pharma, and Nifty Realty indices, which held marginal, all other sectors plunged in the sea of red.

In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 142 points (0.24 per cent), to close at 59,464, while the Nifty50 declined 45 points (0.26 per cent) to end at 17,466.

"With the overall sentiment remaining bearish, local equities are expected to ease in early Monday trades. Caution is likely to remain the buzzword as concerns over more rate hikes by developed economies in the wake of stubbornly high inflation levels continue to weigh on investors' minds," said Prashanth Tapse - Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

In Asian markets, South Korea, Japan, China, and Hong Kong were trading lower. The US markets had ended sharply down on Friday.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.38 per cent to $82.84 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,470.34 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

The rupee depreciated 19 paise to 82.94 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by a strong American currency and a muted trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.87 against the dollar, then fell further to 82.94, registering a decline of 19 paise over its last close. In the previous session on Friday, the rupee settled at 82.75 against the dollar.