The Indian stock market opened on a weak note on Wednesday, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty50 slipping in early trade. Persistent global concerns, cyclical earnings slowdown, and foreign fund outflows weighed heavily on investor sentiment, marking the fourth consecutive day of declines for Indian equities.
In the opening session, the BSE Sensex fell by 414 points, trading at 78,260, while the NSE Nifty slipped 167 points to trade at 23,706. The overall market sentiment remained subdued, with 1,948 stocks trading in the red and only 335 stocks in the green on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Despite the downtrend, Nifty Bank showed a slight uptick, rising by 36.60 points, or 0.07 percent, to reach 51,194.40, while the Nifty Midcap 100 index fell by 882.20 points, or 1.60 percent, settling at 54,375.30. The Nifty Small Cap 100 index witnessed a steep drop of 372.85 points, or 2.07 percent, landing at 17,618.75.
Top laggards in the Sensex pack included Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Maruti, Sun Pharma, Reliance, Nestle India, JSW Steel, and Power Grid. Meanwhile, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, and HDFC emerged as the day’s top gainers.
The market’s cautious outlook reflects investor anticipation of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upcoming monetary policy review from December 4 to 6. The recent Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data indicated a 3.1 percent growth in September, rebounding from a 0.1 percent contraction in August. However, this recovery may reduce hopes for a rate cut in the near term.
Globally, market trends remained weak. U.S. indices such as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones saw their five-day winning streaks broken on Tuesday. Across Asia, most major indexes, including Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong, registered declines, while Jakarta and Bangkok bucked the trend by trading positively.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,024 crore on November 12, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided some support by purchasing equities worth Rs 1,854 crore.