Stock market: Sensex down 223 pts, Nifty nears 25,000; Tata Motors, Maruti lead losers

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened in red on Thursday, extending their losing streak to a fifth session, dragged by weak global cues, concerns over higher H-1B visa fees, and persistent FII selling.

At 9:18 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 109.09 points, or 0.13 per cent, lower at 81,606.54, after slipping nearly 223 points in early trade. The NSE Nifty50 declined 23.80 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 25,033.10, having earlier hit a day’s low of 25,003.90.

Among Sensex stocks, Tata Motors led losers, declining 1.64 per cent to Rs 671.55.  Maruti Suzuki shares fell 0.67 per cent. Other losers included Titian (down 0.69 per cent), UltraTech Cement (down 0.37 per cent) and TCS (down 0.20 per cent).

Wall Street stocks closed lower overnight, with all three major US indices ending in the red. The S&P 500 slipped 0.28 per cent to 6,637.97, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.33 per cent to 22,497.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.37 per cent to finish at 46,121.28.

Asian markets traded mixed on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.20 per cent to 45,719.71, while South Korea’s KOSPI advanced 0.28 per cent to 3,473.10. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.33 per cent to 26,605.58.

On Wednesday, the Sensex dropped 386.47 points, or 0.47 per cent, to close at 81,715.63, while the Nifty50 slipped 112.60 points, or 0.45 per cent, to end at 25,056.90.

Amruta Shinde, Technical & Derivative Analyst at Choice Equity Broking, said Indian benchmark indices are likely to open lower today, with the GIFT Nifty indicating a marginal decline of 45 points in the Nifty50.

“Market sentiment remains cautiously optimistic, though persistent volatility and mixed global cues continue to weigh on investor confidence. The Nifty index managed to hold above the 25,000 mark but closed negative for the fourth consecutive session, reflecting sustained selling pressure and cautious market sentiment. On the upside, immediate resistance is placed at 25,100, followed by 25,250. On the downside, support lies at 25,000 and 24,900, while a breakdown below 24,800 could trigger further downside pressure,” Shinde said.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said that in the absence of immediate triggers, the market has been drifting lower. “Auto stocks have been bullish, partly discounting the potential earnings growth of the industry,” he said.

Vijayakumar said the major drag on the market this year has been the persistent selling by FIIs. “The FII strategy of selling in India and buying in other markets has paid rich dividends, as evidenced by the huge underperformance of the Indian market vis-à-vis others. While Nifty is down 3.6 per cent YoY, Hang Seng is up by 38.6 per cent, and Kospi is up by 33.73 per cent. This huge underperformance and the high valuations in India have emboldened FIIs to continue selling in India,” he said.

“The reforms being implemented in India along with the low interest rate regime have the potential to push economic growth and corporate earnings growth higher. This should bring FIIs back to the Indian market. But we don’t know when this will happen in a sustained basis. This is the right time for investors to continue accumulating high quality stocks. Patience is the key,” Vijayakumar added.