Indian Equities Open Lower; PSU Banks Buck Weak Market Trend

Indian equity benchmarks opened in the red on Wednesday, reflecting cautious global trends, with selling pressure seen across most sectors barring PSU banks.

At 09:21 AM, the Sensex slipped 289 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 81,813, while the Nifty fell 87 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 25,082.

Investor mood was dampened after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned of stagflation risks and stretched valuations.

The impact of American visa restrictions, foreign fund withdrawals, and concerns over high domestic valuations also weighed on trade.

In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap 100 was down 0.45 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 eased 0.20 per cent.

Among Nifty stocks, Trent, SBI, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, and ONGC posted early gains. Hero MotoCorp, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, and ICICI Bank were under pressure.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Auto led the decline with a 0.71 per cent fall. Nifty IT shed 0.66 per cent, and Nifty Consumer Durables dropped 0.70 per cent.

All other indices traded in negative territory except PSU Bank, which edged higher by 0.37 per cent.

Analysts said global markets remain uneasy as elevated asset prices span equities, gold, silver, and bitcoin.

Powell also flagged inflation and jobs-related risks, suggesting that policy decisions ahead could be tricky.

In India, despite the Nifty being about 4 per cent below its September 2024 high, valuations remain above the long-term average.

Experts, however, noted these levels could be justified once earnings growth improves, likely from FY27 onwards.

Overnight, Wall Street closed lower, with the:

• Nasdaq down 0.95 per cent,
• The S&P 500 off 0.55 per cent, and
• The Dow slipping 0.19 per cent

Elsewhere in Asia, markets remain mixed in morning trade. China’s Shanghai index rose 0.45 per cent, and Shenzhen gained 0.92 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.74 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.43 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.21 per cent.

On the institutional side, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,551 crore on Tuesday. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought shares worth Rs 2,671 crore.

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