Mumbai: Indian equity indices were down at opening on Monday, tracking weak global cues.
At 9.32 a.m., the Sensex was down 215 points, or 0.27 percent, at 80,968, while the Nifty was down 78 points, or 0.32 percent, at 24,773.
Overall, market trends remained bearish. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1621 stocks were in the red, while 566 were in the green.
In early trading, selling was also evident in midcap and smallcap equities. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was down 415 points, or 0.72 percent, at 58,080, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell 208 points, or 1.08 percent, to 19,067.
Among the sectoral indices, PSU Banks, metals, energy, infra, and PSE were major losers, while FMCG and IT were major gainers.
Hardik Matalia, Derivative analyst of Choice Broking, said, “After a gap down opening, Nifty can find support at 24,750 followed by 24,650 and 24,600. On the higher side, 25,000 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 25,050 and 25,100.”
The top gainers were Sensex, HUL, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, TCS, HCL Tech, Maruti Suzuki, ITC, and IndusInd Bank. The top losers were NTPC, Power Grid, Tata Steel, M&M, Tata Motors, and SBI.
According to the market experts, “The Market is likely to turn volatile in the coming days, as indicated by the spurt in CBOE VIX by 12 percent to 23.50. Two factors are likely to weigh on markets: the outcome of the US presidential elections and the Fed decision on rate cut. The presidential election is tight now and can go both ways.”
“Investors may wait and watch for clarity on these crucial developments. Meanwhile, weakness in the market can be used to slowly accumulate high-quality large-caps and defensives like pharmaceuticals,” they said.
All Asian markets were in the red. Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul and Jakarta were major laggards. The US markets closed in the red on Friday.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their selling on September 6, selling equities worth Rs 620 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,121 crore on the same day.
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–IANS
