Indian Stock Market Begins on a Downward Note, Nifty Falls Below 24,150
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Mumbai, Jan 3 (NationPress) The domestic benchmark indices commenced lower on Friday, marked by selling pressure in the IT, pharma, financial service, and FMCG sectors.
As of approximately 9:29 am, the Sensex was recorded at 79,710.47, reflecting a decline of 233.24 points or 0.29 percent, while the Nifty stood at 24,131.90, down 56.75 points or 0.23 percent.
Despite this downturn, the overall market sentiment seemed positive. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,256 stocks were performing well, while 401 stocks faced losses.
Market analysts noted that the market's unpredictable nature was highlighted by the previous day's impressive 445-point surge in Nifty. Although FII investments contributed to this rally, with net buying amounting to Rs 1,506 crore, it was insufficient to justify such a significant 1.8 percent increase in Nifty.
The Nifty Bank index fell by 43.70 points or 0.08 percent to reach 51,561.85. Meanwhile, the Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 58,275.60, up by 167.40 points or 0.29 percent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index stood at 19,178.55, having risen by 98.20 points or 0.51 percent.
Sector-wise, buying interest was noted in the media, PSU bank, auto, metal, realty, and energy sectors.
In the Sensex roster, TCS, ITC, Zomato, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance, L&T, Bajaj Finance, and ICICI Bank were the primary losers. Conversely, HCL Tech, SBI, M&M, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki, and IndusInd Bank emerged as the top gainers.
The Dow Jones experienced a drop of 0.36 percent, closing at 42,392.27. The S&P 500 fell by 0.22 percent to 5,868.60, while the Nasdaq decreased by 0.16 percent to close at 19,280.79 in the last trading session.
In the Asian markets, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Seoul were trading positively, whereas China was in the red.
Experts indicated, "With the dollar index at 109.25 and the U.S. 10-year yield at 4.56 percent, the macroeconomic environment is not conducive for sustained FII investments."
On January 2, FIIs purchased equities worth Rs 1,506.75 crore, while domestic institutional investors acquired equities valued at Rs 22.14 crore on the same day.
