After a muted start, the Indian stock market slipped into the red within the first hour of Tuesday’s trading session. As of the latest update, the BSE Sensex was down 241.69 points or 0.30% at 80,555.15, while the NSE Nifty declined by 80.50 points or 0.33% to trade at 24,380.65.
The Indian stock markets began Tuesday’s trading session on a muted note, with both benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opening in flat note.
The BSE Sensex started the day at 80,920.29, gaining 0.15% in early trade. The NSE Nifty opened at 24,468.50, up by 0.03%. The Nifty Bank index opened flat at 55,979.40, 0.11%.
“Technically, after a gap-up opening, the market exhibited range-bound activity. It has been a significant period, as the market has spent the last seven days within a specific trading range, between 24200 and 24500. Such patterns often lead to trending activity in either direction. If the market closes below 24200, it may fall to 23800. Conversely, if it closes above 24500, we could see it rise to 25000 levels. The strategy should be to trade according to these levels,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.
“The Bank Nifty is expected to remain within the trading range of 55700 and 54700 levels,” he added.
Here are five key highlights from the early session-
Top performers leading the charge
Several heavyweight stocks were seen advancing in the early hours. Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50 were M&M, SBI Life, Hindalco, ONGC and Hero MotoCorp
Some stocks in the red
Not everything was rosy though. A few names under pressure included Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Sun Pharma, Titan and Maruti which were among the laggards.
Global markets offer mixed signals
While Indian markets remained open, several major Asian exchanges, including those in Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea, were shut due to Greenery Day. Australian stocks traded almost flat.
Wall Street pulls back
The US markets ended their 9-day winning streak last Friday. The Dow Jones dipped by 98.60 points or 0.24%, closing at 41,218.83. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also slipped by 0.6% and 0.74% respectively, amid concerns over renewed global trade tensions.
All eyes on Q4 earnings
Investors are closely tracking a string of quarterly results scheduled for today. Major names like Bank of Baroda, Paytm, Hindustan Petroleum, Godrej Consumer, Polycab India, and Aarti Drugs are among those expected to announce their earnings for the March quarter of FY25.