Equity markets opened on a weaker note on Thursday as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and subdued global cues continued to dampen investor sentiment. The benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, declined in early trade before recovering some ground later in the session.
The 30-share BSE Sensex initially slipped 253.62 points to 81,191.04, while the NSE Nifty dropped 73.95 points to 24,738.10. However, volatility gripped both indices as the day progressed, with the Sensex later gaining 39.09 points to trade at 81,483.75, and the Nifty recovering to 24,835.70, up 22.70 points.
Among the major laggards on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel and Power Grid. On the other hand, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors, Axis Bank and Larsen & Toubro were among the gainers.
Asian peers traded largely in the red, with Japan’s Nikkei 225, South Korea’s Kospi, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Shanghai’s SSE Composite all registering losses. Meanwhile, US markets ended mixed on Wednesday, offering little direction for domestic equities.
Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, slipped 0.27 per cent to USD 76.49 per barrel.
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VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, remarked: “The 24,500-25,000 range for the Nifty is likely to hold till news from the Israel-Iran conflict change for the better or for the worse. If news of deescalation of tensions break, Nifty will break out of the upper band of the range. If the news is about escalation of tensions, particularly relating to troubles in the Strait of Hormuz resulting in sharp spike in crude, it would be difficult for Nifty to hold on to the 24,500 support level.”
He added, “The Fed decision and commentary have come on expected lines.”
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers, purchasing equities worth ₹890.93 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought equities to the tune of ₹1,091.34 crore.
Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice-President (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, noted ahead of Thursday’s opening: “Domestic equities could see a subdued to weak opening as the conflict between Israel-Iran continues to stay grim with both sides refusing to budge. The biggest worry for India would be crude oil prices, which has been rising since the outbreak of the war and if the war prolongs it would have greater impact in terms of an uptick in import bill. Nervousness is likely to continue as the US Fed has held rates steady, but sees two rate cuts by the year end which should give some breathing space to investors worldwide.”
On Wednesday, the Sensex ended 138.64 points lower at 81,444.66, while the Nifty closed down 41.35 points at 24,812.05.
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