Why Did the Indian Stock Market Open Lower Today?

Mumbai, May 16 (NationPress) - The domestic benchmark indices opened lower on Friday as they reacted to mixed global cues. Selling pressure was observed in the IT, financial services, and pharma sectors during early trading.

At approximately 9:29 am, the Sensex was down by 231.64 points, or 0.28 percent, trading at 82,299.10. Meanwhile, the Nifty index saw a decline of 49.95 points, or 0.20 percent, bringing it down to 25,012.15.

The Nifty Bank index fell by 52.40 points, or 0.09 percent, reaching 55,303.20. In contrast, the Nifty Midcap 100 index was at 56,700.05, up by 169.20 points, or 0.30 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index climbed 78.45 points, or 0.46 percent, to 17,318.40.

Analysts noted that, from a technical perspective, the Nifty formed a strong bullish candle on its daily chart, breaking out of an inside bar pattern and closing above the significant 25,000 level.

"The index demonstrated an intraday recovery of nearly 200 points, showcasing sustained bullish momentum. Immediate support is located at 24,850–24,700, while resistance is found at 25,100 and 25,235. A decisive breakout above 25,235 could propel the index toward the 25,500–25,743 range," stated Hardik Matalia from Choice Broking.

Traders are encouraged to adopt a “buy on dips” strategy with strict risk management and to avoid large overnight positions due to ongoing global uncertainties.

In the Sensex pack, the top losers included Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, SBI, Infosys, HCL Tech, and M&M. Conversely, the top gainers were UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, and Axis Bank.

In the Asian markets, China, Hong Kong, and Japan were trading in the red, while Bangkok, Jakarta, and Seoul were in the green.

In the previous trading session, the Dow Jones in the US closed at 42,322.75, gaining 271.69 points, or 0.65 percent. The S&P 500 ended with a gain of 24.35 points, or 0.41 percent, at 5,916.93, while the Nasdaq closed at 19,112.32, down by 34.49 points, or 0.18 percent.

The economic data for April offers a mixed outlook for the U.S. economy. The Producer Price Index (PPI) unexpectedly dropped by 0.5 percent, contrasting with economists' predictions of a 0.2 percent rise, signaling possible easing of inflationary pressures at the wholesale level.

"Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell discussed the Fed's framework review on Thursday, indicating adjustments to their monetary policy strategy in light of significant changes in inflation and interest rate projections post the 2020 pandemic," said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities.

On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 5,392.94 crore on May 15, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities valued at Rs 1,668.47 crore.