Sensex Erases Early Losses, Trades In Green, Nifty Above 25,000

Indian equity indices opened lower on Wednesday, tracking weakness in Asian and other global markets.

At the opening bell, the BSE Sensex was at 81,621, down 198 points, or 0.24 per cent, while the Nifty 50 was at 25,009, down 48 points, or 0.19 per cent.

On the BSE Sensex, 11 out of the 30 stocks were trading in the green. Gains were led by Power Grid Corp (up 0.53 per cent), followed by Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paint, Bajaj Finance, and JSW Steel, while Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.08 per cent), followed by TCS, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, and ITC, were the top drags on the index.

On the Nifty 50, 18 out of the 30 stocks were trading in the green. Gains were led by HDFC Life (up 0.87 per cent), followed by Dr Reddy’s, Asian Paint, BPCL, and Power Grid Corp, while on the flip side, TCS (down 0.73 per cent), followed by Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan, and Cipla were the top losers.

Across sectors, the Auto index (down 0.68 per cent), followed by the FMCG and IT indices were the top laggards. Bank Nifty was marginall higher (up 0.03 per cent), while Financial Services was up 0.28 per cent.

Consumer Durables, Pharma, Healthcare, and Media indices were trading in the red, while the Oil & Gas index was up 0.57 per cent.

In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap100 was flat and the Nifty Smallcap 100 was marginally higher by 0.03 per cent.

Global Cues

That apart, Japan’s Nikkei was leading the losses in lower Asia-Pacific markets, after Wall Street closed in negative territory on Tuesday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.8 per cent, and the broad-based Topix was lower by 1.13 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was marginally ahead by 0.08 per cent, while mainland China’s Shanghai Composite and CSI 300 were down by 0.14 per cent and 0.86 per cent, respectively.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was trading lowed by 0.2 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.89 per cent.

Investors will keep an eye out for more stimulus measures as the country’s housing minister is scheduled to hold a press briefing on Thursday morning, as per a statement from the State Council Information Office on Tuesday.

Wall Street closed down on Tuesday, following global stocks lower as a weak sales forecast from European chip fabrication equipment maker ASML weighed on tech shares, while crude extended its slide due to easing supply worries and weakening demand.

The three major US indexes ended the session in negative territory, with the S&P 500 and the Dow easing back from Monday’s record closing highs.