Sensex Opens Flat, Nifty Slips Below 25,000 as RIL Drags; IT, PSU Banks Under Pressure.
Indian benchmark indices opened flat on Monday amid broad-based weakness across key sectors. Early losses in Reliance Industries, IT, and PSU banking stocks weighed on sentiment, pushing the Nifty below the 25,000 mark.
As of 9:22 am, the BSE Sensex fell 130 points to 81,627.44, while the NSE Nifty50 declined 49 points to 24,919.45.
Key drags included:
Reliance Industries: –1.95%
Axis Bank: –1.72%
Mahindra & Mahindra: –1.17%
Infosys: –1.04%
HCL Technologies: –0.97%
Top gainers:
Tata Steel: +1.60%
HDFC Bank: +1.34%
Eternal: +1.11%
ICICI Bank: +0.80%
UltraTech Cement: +0.53%
In the broader market, Nifty Midcap100 was down 0.37% and Smallcap100 slipped 0.52%, while India VIX rose 2.17%, signaling rising volatility.
Sector-wise, Nifty Oil & Gas led the declines, falling 1.14%, followed by PSU Bank (–0.88%) and IT (–0.86%). Nifty Pharma (+0.59%) and Metal (+0.47%) showed modest gains, while Nifty Private Bank traded flat.
According to Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, investors are watching the outcome of India–US trade talks closely. “An interim deal with tariffs under 20% would be viewed positively by markets,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Q1 earnings offered mixed cues. ICICI Bank posted strong numbers, while HDFC Bank delivered a stable performance. Axis Bank, however, disappointed investors with weaker-than-expected results.
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