Sensex trades lower, down 114 points as most Asian markets turn red

Indian equity indices were trading in the red on Wednesday in early market trends following mixed cues from Asian markets. At 9:43 a.m., Sensex was down 114 points or 0.14 per cent at 80,688 while Nifty was down 13 points or 0.05 per cent at 24,685.

Banking stocks remained under pressure in early trade. Nifty Bank was at 50,686, down 116.60 points or 0.23 per cent.

An analyst from Choice Broking said, “After a flat opening, Nifty can find support at 24,600 followed by 24,550 and 24,500. On the higher side, 24,800 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 24,850 and 24,900.”

Apart from banking, IT, fin service, realty and service sectors are the major losers in the NSE index. However, metal, FMCG, pharma and media are the major gainers. In the Sensex pack, L&T, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Nestle, ITC, HUL, Sun Pharma, NTPC, JSW Steel, SBI and Tata Steel are the top gainers.

UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech and M&M are the top losers. According to market experts, “An important trend in the market now is the shift in market preferences from overvalued segments to fairly valued segments. Attractively valued financials are witnessing value buying and overvalued segments like railways and defence-related stocks are witnessing profit booking. This is a healthy trend and is likely to sustain for some more time.”

“Prices cannot soar continuously. Reversion is a normal trend,” they added. Mixed trading is taking place in Asian markets. The markets of Bangkok and Jakarta are bullish. The markets of Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul are in the red. US markets closed in the red on Tuesday due to profit booking from higher levels.

Crude oil benchmark Brent crude is at $77.10 per barrel and WTI crude at $73.03 per barrel. The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,457 crore on August 20, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,252 crore on the same day.

(With inputs from IANS)