The BSE Sensex opened 287.39 points lower at 72,192.89 on Thursday, 1 October, while the Nifty50 shed 76.75 points to begin the session at 22,543.70, as sustained foreign institutional investor outflows and broad sectoral weakness weighed on domestic equities at the open.

Sectoral Snapshot

Nifty Auto and Nifty Cement were among the steepest fallers in early trade, with select sectoral indices plunging up to 2.76 per cent. Nifty Realty, Nifty Media, and Nifty Healthcare also featured among the top laggards. Energy, metal, and pharma indices traded sharply lower as well, declining between 0.86 per cent and 0.95 per cent in early deals.

Not all segments were in the red, however. Nifty IT bucked the trend with a gain of more than 1 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank edged up 0.60 per cent, providing pockets of support to the broader market.

FII Selling Streak Enters Fifth Session

The pressure on benchmarks tracked a relentless exit by foreign funds. On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers for the fifth consecutive session, offloading equities worth more than ₹10,148 crore, according to provisional data. Over the full month of September, FIIs sold equities worth ₹45,536 crore through exchanges, partially offset by ₹9,676 crore invested via the primary market.

Countering the outflow, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued to absorb the selling pressure, purchasing equities worth ₹11,271 crore on Wednesday alone — providing a floor that has kept declines from accelerating into a sharper correction.

What Analysts Are Watching

Market analysts note that sustained FII selling, combined with rising US bond yields, could keep large-cap equities under pressure in the near term. The near-term structure for the Nifty is described as sideways to bearish, with immediate support seen around 22,500–22,550 and resistance in the 22,800–22,900 band.

Experts caution that a sustained move above the resistance zone would be needed to meaningfully improve market sentiment, while a break below the support band could intensify selling. Notably, crude oil prices are also being closely tracked — analysts say a decline in Brent crude below $98 a barrel could offer some relief to the market by easing inflation and current account concerns.

Broader Context

This marks a continuation of a risk-off trend that has gripped domestic markets over recent sessions. Rising US yields have made dollar-denominated assets more attractive relative to emerging-market equities, historically triggering FII rotation away from India. The DII counter-buying, while supportive, has not been sufficient to reverse the directional pressure set by foreign flows. How global macro cues — particularly US Federal Reserve commentary and crude oil trajectory — evolve in the sessions ahead will likely determine whether the current selling phase deepens or stabilises.