Sensex, Nifty Open Lower As Auto, IT, & Metal Stocks Decline

On Friday, the Indian benchmark indices opened significantly lower, influenced by weak global cues, with selling pressure observed in the auto, IT, PSU bank, and metal sectors during early trade.

At 9:34 AM, the Sensex was down 840.82 points or 1.13% at 73,771.61, while the Nifty declined 254.15 points or 1.13% to 22,290.90.

The Nifty Bank index dropped 439.75 points or 0.90% to 48,304.05.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 994.75 points or 0.12% to 48,142, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 320.25 points or 2.11% to 14,836.35.

Experts note that the benchmark index has shown little movement over the past three sessions, as reflected in the small-bodied candlestick formations. The limited price fluctuations indicate ongoing bearish sentiment, leading market participants to remain cautious.

Sameet Chavan, Head Research, Technical and Derivative, Angel One stated, “Moving forward, one must remain vigilant with global developments, which are likely to act as catalysts in setting the initial tone for domestic markets. At the same time, one should refrain from making aggressive bets until momentum returns to the market.”

In the Sensex pack, the top losers included Reliance, ITC, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank, and Asian Paints.

In the previous trading session, the Dow Jones fell 0.45% to 43,239.50, the S&P 500 declined 1.59% to 5,861.57, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.78% to 18,544.42.

Asian markets were also trading lower, with indices in Seoul, China, Japan, Bangkok, Jakarta, and Hong Kong in the red.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling spree for the sixth consecutive day, offloading equities worth Rs 556.56 crore on 27 February.

However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 1,727.11 crore on the same day.

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