The Indian stock market opened in the red on Monday. Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty made a weak start on Monday due to mixed trends in global markets, but after initial losses, they witnessed volatility later due to selective buying by investors. The rupee slipped 1 paise to 90.67 against the US dollar in the early session on Monday due to withdrawal of foreign investors and strengthening of the dollar.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 349.81 points or 0.42 per cent to 82,276.95 in early trade. At the same time, the broader market index NSE Nifty fell 98.4 points to 25,372.70.
Later, both the major indices witnessed volatility. The Sensex rose 136.04 points to 82,762.80, while the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 51.15 points to 25,522.25 after an initial fall.
Condition of Sensex companies
PowerGrid, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Eternal, HCL Technologies, ITC, Trent, Asian Paints and Tata Steel were among the gainers in the Sensex.
On the other hand, Infosys, Adani Ports, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Titan, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) were among the major laggards.
The effect of selling in IT shares was visible
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said that the heavy selling in IT stocks last week will continue to impact the markets in the near future. The slight recovery in ADRs of IT shares on Friday is unlikely to support IT shares. Institutions may continue to sell IT stocks and move towards sectors like financials, automobile, capital goods, telecom and pharma where there is good potential for earnings growth.
He further said that the price of Brent crude is delicately balanced around US$68 due to concerns over geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran. This will have to be monitored closely.
Vijayakumar said that overall, the market prospects for 2026 look good as fundamentals are improving and valuations have come to reasonable levels in line with long-term averages. Although valuations of mid and small cap stocks are relatively high, they are still reporting better-than-expected earnings.
Mixed situation in Asian markets
Asian markets were mixed, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rising 0.4 percent while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index remained flat. Markets in China and South Korea were closed for Lunar New Year holidays. The US stock market closed with mixed sentiment on Friday.
The price of Brent crude increased to $ 67.78 per barrel.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading marginally higher at US$67.78 per barrel. According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 7,395.41 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 5,553.96 crore. On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 1,048.16 points to close at 82,626.76, while the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 336.10 points to close at 25,471.10.
