Markets Open Lower As Global Weakness Weighs On IT, Financial Stocks

On Monday, Indian benchmark indices started the week on a weak note, opening lower due to weak global cues. Early trade witnessed selling pressure in the IT and financial sectors.

At 9:34 AM, the Sensex dropped 541.66 points or 0.72% to 74,769.40, while the Nifty fell 158.40 points or 0.69% to 22,637.50.

The Nifty Bank index declined 447.55 points or 0.91% to 48,533.65. Meanwhile, the Nifty Midcap 100 fell 786.75 points or 1.56% to 49,699.45, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 273.55 points or 1.75% to 15,363.35.

Experts attribute the decline to persistent selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and global uncertainty linked to US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.

After opening lower, Nifty may find support at 22,700, followed by 22,600 and 22,500.

Resistance levels are seen at 22,900, with further hurdles at 23,000 and 23,100.

Hardik Matalia of Choice Broking stated, “The charts of Bank Nifty indicate that it may get support at 48,500 followed by 48,200 and 47,900. If the index advances further, 49,200 would be the initial key resistance, followed by 49,500 and 49,700.”

Sectoral Performance & Global Markets Trend

Among Sensex stocks, Zomato, HCL Tech, PowerGrid, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, TCS, SBI, and Infosys were the biggest laggards. On the other hand, Nestle India, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, and ITC were among the top gainers.

In the previous session on Friday, US markets ended in the red, with the Dow Jones falling 1.69% to 43,428.02, the S&P 500 dropping 1.71% to 6,013.13, and the Nasdaq declining 2.20% to 19,524.01.

Asian markets followed the downtrend, with indices in Seoul, China, Bangkok, Japan, Jakarta, and Hong Kong trading lower.

Gold and silver saw high volatility last week due to global uncertainties surrounding tariff concerns.

Gold extended its gains for the eighth consecutive week, reaching record levels in the international market.

Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities Ltd asserted, “The dollar index saw profit taking at their highs amid downbeat US services PMI data as services PMI slipped below 50 levels for the first time since 25 months. The U.S. jobless claims also surged and pushed the dollar index lower.”

On 21 February, FIIs remained net sellers for the third consecutive session, offloading equities worth Rs 3,449.15 crore.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued their buying streak for the 13th session, purchasing equities worth Rs 2,884.61 crore.

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