Indian Stock Market Opens with Major Decline Amid Weak Global Sentiment

The Indian stock market opened with significant losses on Thursday, reflecting global trends. The BSE Sensex dropped by 606.77 points, or 0.76 percent, to 79,542.10, while the Nifty 50 at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) fell by 182.50 points, or 0.75 percent, to 24,232.00.

The Nifty Midcap also opened lower, down 433 points, or 0.76 percent, at 56,439.80. The Nifty Bank at NSE followed suit, opening at 50,762.30 in the red.

Sectoral stocks at NSE, including Banking, Financial Services, FMCG, IT, Metal, Pharma, PSU Banks, Private Banks, Realty, Healthcare, Consumer Durables, and Oil and Gas, opened in negative territory during the initial trading hour. However, Media and Auto stocks remained in the green.

Market analysts attribute the decline to weak global sentiment, exacerbated by disappointing earnings disclosures from Alphabet and Tesla.

“Global sentiment is taking a hit. Rotation from big tech to underperforming sectors began in the US as part of the ‘Trump Trade.’ Then, results came in soft for Alphabet/Google and Tesla, raising further questions about valuations for Big Tech and AI investments, which have been massive,” said Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert.

“Indian market futures are indicating a weak start. Sentiment was hurt by an increase in taxes on investor profits, and foreign institutions have been sellers for the last two days. However, domestic institutions, sitting on large cash positions, have been buying during this dip, providing some recovery to the markets over the last two days,” he added.

Varun Aggarwal, MD of Profit Idea, said, “Market sentiment remains cautious, with technical indicators suggesting potential for further downside if key support levels are breached. Investors are closely watching global cues and economic data for market direction amid ongoing volatility.”

The contrasting performance between the benchmark indices and broader markets highlights divergent investor sentiment amid budgetary and earnings scenarios. In the last five trading days, the BSE Sensex has fallen by 0.79 percent, or 634.86 points, while the Nifty has declined by 0.51 percent, or 125.60 points.

In global markets, Asian indices, including Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi, saw significant declines, mirroring losses on Wall Street. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped sharply to multi-week lows, with Tesla and Alphabet posting notable declines, contributing to Nasdaq’s largest single-day percentage drop since October 2022.

(With ANI Inputs)

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