Indian stock market opens in red; selling seen in PSU bank, pharma sectors

The Indian stock market opened in red for the second consecutive day on Wednesday as selling was seen in PSU bank and pharma sectors in early trade.

Sensex was trading at 80,057.15 after falling 311.88 points or 0.39 per cent. At the same time. Nifty was trading at 24,372.75 after falling 94.10 points or 0.38 per cent. The market trend remained positive.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,666 stocks were trading in green, while 586 stocks were trading in red. The Nifty Bank was at 52,890.30 after slipping 430.40 points or 0.82 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 56,460.75 after climbing 209.45 points or 0.37 per cent.

The Nifty Small cap 100 index was at 18,355.35 after climbing 156.40 points or 0.86 per cent. Maruti, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, TCS and ITC were the top gainers in the Sensex pack.

At the same time, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, HCL Tech, PowerGrid and Asian Paints were the top losers. Maruti, BEL, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto were the top gainers in the Nifty pack. Cipla, Dr Reddy’s, Sun Pharma, Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were the top losers.

In Asian markets, except the Tokyo market, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Jakarta and Seoul markets were trading in the red. US stock markets had closed in the red on the previous trading day. According to market experts, in the near term, the market will be influenced by two factors — one positive and the other negative.

The positive is the sharp decline in FII selling to just Rs 548 crore on Tuesday. This is an indication that the FII tactical trade of ‘Sell India, Buy China’ is coming to an end. With more DII and retail money coming to the market and FII selling tapering off, the market may get a near-term boost, aided by the festive mood.

But the uptrend is unlikely to sustain since the Q2 earnings numbers indicate softness in earnings for FY25, said experts. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 548 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 730 crore on the same day. There was a boom in the market on Tuesday.

At the end of trading, the market rose on the strength of bank shares. Sensex closed at 80,369.03, up 363.99 points or 0.45 per cent. Nifty was at 24,466.85 after rising 127.70 points or 0.52 per cent. (With inputs from IANS)