Benchmarks Edge Lower: Sensex Down 150 Points, Auto, Pharma Drag Nifty Below 25,800

Sensex, Nifty Open Lower Amid Global Weakness; Auto and Pharma Stocks Drag

Indian markets opened lower on Thursday, extending a four-day losing streak, as investors tracked weakness in Asian equities and awaited the weekly expiry of Sensex derivatives contracts.

As of 9:20 AM, the Sensex was at 84,434.8, down 124.8 points (0.15%), while the Nifty50 stood at 25,789.75, down 22.15 points (0.08%).

Top Movers:

Losers: Sun Pharma, TMPV, M&M, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Bank, Tata Steel, BEL (down up to 2%)

Gainers: Infosys, HCLTech, Tech Mahindra, TCS, SBI, ITC

Sector Trends:

Nifty Auto, Pharma, and Realty were the biggest drag, down up to 1%

Nifty IT and PSU Bank indices gained 0.9% and 0.25%, respectively

Broader markets: Nifty Midcap fell 0.10% and Smallcap dropped 0.2%

Global Cues:
Markets worldwide were subdued ahead of key central bank decisions and economic data. Investors awaited the Bank of England’s interest rate decision, the European Central Bank’s policy announcement, US inflation and jobless claims, and the Bank of Japan’s two-day policy meeting, where a rate hike to 0.75% is expected.

Asian equities followed Wall Street’s negative trend: Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.53%, South Korea’s Kospi slid 1.36%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.3%. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 declined 1.16%, Nasdaq Composite fell 1.81%, and Dow Jones closed 0.47% lower, weighed by technology stocks.

Commodities:
Oil prices edged higher, with Brent crude at $59.68 per barrel (up 1.29%) and WTI crude at $56.86 per barrel (up 1.64%).