Sensex Today: Equity benchmarks started Monday’s session on a weak note, even as global markets largely remained positive.
The BSE Sensex index opened flat with a negative bias, but quickly extended declines
to trade at 83,228, falling 348 points or 0.42 per cent. Similarly, the Nifty index was at 25,582, lower by 101 points or 0.39 per cent.
L&T, Power Grid, RIL, Adani Ports, Eternal, BEL, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Ultratech Cement, ICICI Bank, Tech M, Bajaj Finserv, and IndiGo were the top Sensex losers, down up to 1 per cent.
On the higher side, HUL, ITC, and Axis Bank were the only gainers.
In the broader markets, the Nifty MidCap index slipped 1 per cent, and the Nifty SmallCap index 1.5 per cent.
Among sectors, the Nifty Realty index declined 1.6 per cent, the Nifty Pharma index 0.97 per cent, the Nifty Auto index 0.6 per cent, and the Nifty IT, and Bank indices 0.5 per cent each.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, said: “The market has turned distinctly weak, weighed down by a series of India-specific and global geopolitical events. The drama surrounding the US-India trade deal is getting murkier with strange remarks from the US administration. This is impacting the market.”
Geopolitical developments in Venezuela, the crisis in Iran and Trump’s threats regarding Greenland are also being viewed by the markets with concern. This has spiked the India volatility index, India VIX indicating big volatility ahead, he added.
An expected ruling on Trump tariffs from the US Supreme Court on Friday didn’t materialise; there is no clarity on when this will happen. Yet it can happen at any time, and therefore, investors must be vigilant about developments on this front. Therefore, Q3 results and management commentary from the tech majors and other large caps in banking and companies like RIL will influence the market trend in the near-term, Vijayakumar said.
Global cues
Asian markets traded mixed in early deals. China’s CSI 300 slipped 0.29 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.09 per cent lower. In contrast, Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.61 per cent and South Korea’s KOSPI advanced 1.26 per cent.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones ended at fresh record highs on Friday after a US jobs report showed a decline in the unemployment rate in December. Non-farm payrolls rose by 50,000 last month, following a downwardly revised 56,000 increase in November, slightly below the Reuters poll estimate of 60,000. The S&P 500 gained 0.65 per cent, the Dow rose 0.48 per cent, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.82 per cent.
In commodities, oil prices remain in focus as Iran entered its third week of protests, with reports of over 500 fatalities. Media reports on Sunday said US President Donald Trump is weighing possible intervention options.
Separately, reports also suggested that the US Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, intensifying Trump’s pressure on the central bank.
