Mumbai, Aug 20 (NationPress) The Indian benchmark indices experienced a slight decline during the morning session on Wednesday, influenced by mixed global signals.

The BSE Sensex decreased by 112 points or 0.14 percent, settling at 81,531. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 fell by 41 points or 0.16 percent, reaching 24,939 points.

Broader market indices underperformed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 both finishing in negative territory, down 0.17 percent and 0.19 percent respectively.

The Nifty Bank index dropped by 0.42 percent, while most other indices exhibited moderate losses of up to 0.50 percent.

Notably, the NSE's benchmark index, Nifty, had surged by 364 points in the previous three days, buoyed by positive announcements regarding GST reforms expected to be implemented before Diwali.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, remarked, “There is no room for a sustained rally as the news from the US administration regarding the August 27 deadline for the 25 percent secondary tariff on India is not encouraging. US President Donald Trump's tariff policies, which seem driven by personal interests rather than logic, may persist.”

In the short term, investors are advised to concentrate on domestic consumption sectors such as banking, financials, telecom, hotels, healthcare, automobiles, and cement, particularly in segments considered fairly valued, he added.

From a technical perspective, the Nifty has been consolidating within a sideways-to-bullish trend after a gap-up opening.

Mandar Bhojane from Choice Equity Broking stated, “The index continues to receive support at nearly every major EMA level, indicating robust underlying strength.”

If the Nifty maintains levels above 25,050, it may target 25,250 and 25,500 in the upcoming sessions. Analysts suggest that the market remains in a bullish phase, and dips could offer buying prospects.

Asian-Pacific markets declined in early trading, reflecting Wall Street's downturn as investors digested Japan's trade data, which showed exports falling by 2.6 percent YoY in July, marking the steepest decline in four years and surpassing analysts' predictions of a 2.1 percent YoY drop.

In the US, the Dow Jones posted a minor gain of 0.02 percent, while the NASDAQ fell by 1.46 percent and the S&P 500 declined by 0.59 percent.

Within Asia, China's Shanghai and Shenzhen indices dropped by 0.04 percent and 0.59 percent respectively, Japan's Nikkei decreased by 1.52 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped by 0.41 percent, and South Korea's KOSPI fell by 1.86 percent.

On Tuesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers again after a brief buying spree, offloading Indian equities worth Rs 634 crore. Conversely, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued their support with net purchases totaling Rs 2,261 crore.

–IANS

aar/na