Market Today: Sensex Falls 156 Points, Nifty Opens Below 24,400 Amid Weak Global Cues, Elevated Oil Prices

Markets Today, August 13: The domestic equity market opened lower on Thursday, August 13, amid mixed Asian market cues and continued concerns over elevated crude oil prices. Selling pressure in key heavyweight stocks, particularly IT and financial shares, also weighed on the domestic market.

As of 9:16 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 77,809.53, down 156.82 points or 0.20 per cent, while the NSE Nifty was at 24,367.90, down 67.05 points or 0.28 per cent.

The market remained cautious after the Sensex had declined 187.90 points, or 0.24 per cent, on Wednesday to close at 77,966.35. The Nifty 50 had ended the previous session at 24,435.95, down 0.28 per cent.

Stock Market Today: IT, Financial Stocks Under Pressure

Selling was visible across several heavyweight stocks in early trade. Among Sensex constituents,

Infosys, Titan, Reliance Industries and TCS were among the major drags.

Infosys fell 0.85 per cent, while Titan declined 0.94 per cent and TCS slipped 0.55 per cent. Reliance Industries was down 1.14 per cent. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI and Axis Bank were also trading lower.

On the other hand, IndiGo was the top Sensex/Nifty-related gainer in the early session, rising 1.78 per cent. Bharti Airtel gained 1.13 per cent, while LT, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance and Eternal also traded in positive territory.

Broader Market Shows Relative Resilience

The broader market was comparatively resilient despite weakness in the benchmark indices. The Nifty Smallcap 50 gained 0.32 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 250 rose 0.30 per cent and 0.28 per cent, respectively. The Nifty Midcap 100 was marginally lower by 0.16 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap 150 declined 0.08 per cent.

India VIX, which measures expected volatility in the market, fell 1.30 per cent to 11.54, indicating that near-term volatility expectations remained relatively contained.

Sectoral Performance: Media, Auto Lead; Realty, IT Drag

Sectoral performance remained mixed in early trade. The Nifty Media index gained 0.79 per cent, while the Nifty Auto index rose 0.37 per cent. The Nifty Chemicals index was up 0.29 per cent.

On the other hand, the Nifty Realty index declined 0.82 per cent, making it the biggest sectoral laggard. Nifty IT fell 0.63 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank declined 0.40 per cent and Nifty Financial Services fell 0.38 per cent.

Nifty Pharma, PSU Bank, Oil & Gas and Consumer Durables were also trading in negative territory.

V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, said the markets are expected to remain in a consolidation phase in the near term. “The market is likely to continue along the consolidation phase and sideways movements in the near-term.”

He pointed to India’s strong economic fundamentals and earnings momentum as key positives for equities. According to him, sustained liquidity flows from domestic investors are also providing support to the market.

Vijayakumar highlighted high-frequency indicators such as GST collections, freight activity, auto sales and credit growth, saying these could provide an upside surprise to economic growth and corporate earnings.

However, he identified elevated crude oil prices and uncertainty over the future direction of crude prices as the key headwind for the market. “The ideal investment strategy at this juncture is to remain invested and continuing to invest systematically,” Vijayakumar said.

Asian Markets Trade Mixed

Asian markets were mostly higher in early trade on Thursday, supported by optimism around artificial intelligence stocks and the semiconductor sector.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.6 per cent in early trade, while South Korea’s Kospi surged 3.9 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was marginally higher, and the Shanghai Composite gained around 0.4 per cent.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200, however, declined 0.6 per cent.

The positive sentiment in several Asian markets followed gains on Wall Street overnight, where the S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended marginally lower.

US markets were supported by gains in artificial intelligence-related stocks after several companies reported stronger-than-expected growth. A softer-than-expected US inflation reading also helped improve investor sentiment.

US Inflation, Fed Rate Outlook in Focus

US consumer prices rose 3.4 per cent in July from a year earlier, easing from 3.5 per cent in June. The moderation in inflation reduced market expectations of an imminent interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.

The 10-year US Treasury yield fell to 4.68 per cent from 4.70 per cent. However, crude oil prices remained a concern for global markets. US crude settled at around $82.20 a barrel, while Brent crude was around $87.97 a barrel.

For Indian equities, elevated crude prices remain a key concern because higher oil prices can put pressure on inflation, the country’s import bill and the rupee.

Technical View

Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, said, “Yesterday’s swing higher from the 20 dma and the hammer formed thereof appears to have set up conditions to force a trend reversal aiming 24540-666 initially, followed by 24850- 25100. However, we expect a consolidation on approach to 24490. If this holds, upside prospects will reduce, but a collapse aiming 24240-24060, is less expected.”