Stock Market Opens Lower: Sensex Nears 100-Point Fall, Nifty Below 24,100; ITC Jumps 4%

Indian benchmark indices opened slightly lower on Tuesday as investors remained cautious despite a stronger-than-expected 7.8% GDP growth reading for the first quarter.

Persistent geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, along with elevated crude oil prices and selling by foreign investors, kept sentiment subdued.

At 9:29 am, the BSE Sensex was down 25.93 points, or 0.03%, at 76,931.34. The index opened at 76,994.11 and moved between an early high of 77,083.49 and a low of 76,835.79.

The Nifty 50 declined 17.20 points, or 0.07%, to 24,063.20. It began the session at 24,077.55 and traded in a range of 24,082.60 to 24,027.80.

STRONG GDP DATA OFFERS SOME SUPPORT

The market’s cautious opening came despite India’s economy growing 7.8% in the first quarter, exceeding expectations and reinforcing optimism around domestic growth.

Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said the GDP numbers were encouraging and suggested India remained capable of achieving around 7% growth in FY27.

He noted that services and secondary sectors expanded by 10% and 8.5%, respectively, indicating that economic activity remained strong and could support earnings growth during the financial year.

However, Vijayakumar warned that positive domestic fundamentals could face pressure from global developments.

He highlighted elevated US Treasury yields and crude prices as key near-term risks, noting that the US 10-year yield stood at 4.77%, while the 30-year yield was at 5.24%.

Foreign investor selling was another concern. FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 13,025 crore in the cash segment over the previous two trading sessions, increasing the possibility of continued capital movement towards US assets.

According to Vijayakumar, the combination of strong domestic fundamentals and external pressure could keep the Nifty confined to a broad range of 23,000-25,000 in the near term.

IT SHARES BUOY THE MARKET

ITC emerged as the strongest performer among Sensex constituents, gaining around 3% in early trade.

HCLTech followed with a 2.43% rise, while Infosys advanced 1.43%. Bharti Airtel climbed 1.42%, Kotak Mahindra Bank added 0.92% and Reliance Industries gained 0.68%.

Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Adani Ports and M&M were also trading higher.

The broader market, however, remained under pressure.

IndiGo led the declines, falling 1.89%, while Bajaj Finserv dropped 1.74%. SBI declined 1.31%, Axis Bank slipped 1.21% and Sun Pharma lost 1.02%.

Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, Eternal, Power Grid and Maruti were among the other stocks trading in negative territory.

MID- AND SMALL-CAPS UNDER PRESSURE

Weakness was more pronounced outside the benchmark indices.

The Nifty 100 declined 0.21%, while the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 fell 0.36% and 0.33%, respectively.

Mid-cap stocks saw steeper losses, with the Nifty Midcap 50 down 1.05% and the Nifty Midcap 100 lower by 0.95%. The Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 0.26%.

India VIX, meanwhile, edged up 0.33%, signalling a modest increase in market volatility.

PHARMA, HEALTHCARE STOCKS DRAG

Pharma and healthcare counters were among the biggest sectoral laggards in early trade.

The Nifty Healthcare Index dropped 1.59%, while the Nifty Pharma index declined 1.42%.

Financial stocks also remained weak. Nifty Private Bank fell 0.97%, Nifty Financial Services 25/50 declined 0.90%, Nifty Financial Services ex-Bank dropped 1.29% and Nifty MidSmall Financial Services lost 1.39%.

Realty stocks also came under pressure, with the Nifty Realty index down 1.38%.

On the positive side, Nifty FMCG rose 0.75%, Nifty Media gained 0.65%, Nifty Metal added 0.50% and Nifty Auto advanced 0.27%.

Nifty PSU Bank declined 0.65%, while Nifty Consumer Durables fell 0.64% and Nifty Chemicals slipped 0.39%. Nifty Oil & Gas was marginally higher.

CRUDE OIL ADDS TO MARKET PRESSURE

Oil prices remained elevated as geopolitical uncertainty continued to unsettle global markets.

Brent crude rose 0.8% to $91.21 a barrel, while WTI crude gained 1.08% to $86.69.

The continued rise in oil prices is a particular concern for India because higher crude can increase import costs and put pressure on inflation and the country’s external balance.

With US-Iran tensions adding to uncertainty, investors are closely watching crude prices alongside US bond yields and foreign fund flows.

For Indian equities, the picture therefore remains mixed: strong domestic growth is providing fundamental support, but expensive crude, elevated US yields and sustained FII selling could limit gains in the near term.