Indian share market opens lower, auto and IT stocks drag
The Indian stock market opened in the red on Monday, with selling pressure observed in Nifty’s auto, IT, PSU bank, pharma, and metal sectors.
At around 9:32 am, the Sensex was trading at 81,876.95, down by 256.17 points or 0.31%, while the Nifty was at 24,705.60, declining by 62.70 points or 0.25%.
Despite the decline, the market trend remained broadly positive. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,170 stocks were trading in the green, while 571 stocks were in the red.
Akshay Chinchalkar of Axis Securities commented on Friday’s highly volatile session, stating that the Nifty slumped during the early part of the session, “but the day’s low occurred exactly at the falling neckline of the bullish head-and-shoulders pattern, which was activated on December 3 with an upside objective of 25,500.”
He added, “This objective remains valid as long as the market stays above 23,873, but more critical support now is Friday’s low of 24,180.”
Nifty Bank was down 168 points or 0.31%, trading at 53,415.80. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose by 243.30 points or 0.41%, trading at 59,234.85, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was up 108.10 points or 0.56%, at 19,515.40.
According to market experts, the heightened volatility in the market can be attributed to large positions in the F&O (Futures & Options) segments. The 500-point move in the Nifty from the day’s trough to its peak suggests massive short-covering activity.
In the Sensex pack, NTPC, JSW Steel, M&M, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, TCS, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Axis Bank, and Tech Mahindra were among the top losers. On the other hand, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, L&T, ITC, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, and HCL Tech emerged as the top gainers.
In Asian markets, except for China, indices in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul, Jakarta, and Japan were trading in the red.
Meanwhile, in the US stock markets, the Nasdaq Composite closed 0.12% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.20% lower in the previous trading session.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,335.32 crore on December 13, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) sold equities worth Rs 732.20 crore on the same day.
