Equity benchmarks opened lower on Wednesday as weak global cues and concerns over elevated valuations weighed on investor sentiment.
At 9:21 am, the Sensex fell 289 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 81,813, while the Nifty was down 87 points, or 0.35 per cent, at 25,082.
The decline followed overnight weakness on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq dropped 0.95 per cent, the S&P 500 fell 0.55 per cent, and the Dow slipped 0.19 per cent. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks on stagflation risks and elevated asset prices further dampened mood, with investors cautious about the path of US monetary policy.
Back home, foreign portfolio investors sold equities worth Rs 3,551 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 2,671 crore. Analysts said persistent foreign outflows, visa curbs from the US, and stretched domestic market valuations continue to act as headwinds.
Among Nifty constituents, Trent, SBI, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, and ONGC were early gainers, while Hero MotoCorp, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, and ICICI Bank declined.
On the sectoral front, selling was broad-based. Nifty Auto lost 0.71 per cent, IT dropped 0.66 per cent, and Consumer Durables slipped 0.70 per cent. PSU Bank was the sole sector in the green, gaining 0.37 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.45 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 was down 0.20 per cent.
Asian markets traded mixed in the morning session. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.45 per cent, Shenzhen gained 0.92 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.74 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.43 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.21 per cent.
-IANS