MUMBAI — The Indian stock market opened in the red on Monday following
negative cues from the global markets.
At around 9:18 am, Sensex was down 676.86 points or 0.83
per cent at 80,774.15 and Nifty was down 181.15 points or 0.74 per cent at
24,568.25.
Selling was seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty
midcap 100 index was down 104 points or 0.18 per cent at 57,315 and Nifty
smallcap 100 index was trading 69 points or 0.39 per cent lower at 17,813.
In the Sensex pack, HUL, Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank,
Nestle, SBI, Eternal (Zomato), Asian Paints and Power Grid were the top
gainers. HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Tata
Steel and Tech Mahindra were the top losers.
According to analysts, the market structure favours
continuation of the ongoing consolidation phase.
“US President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on steel
and aluminium is a clear message that the tariff and trade scenario will
continue to be uncertain and turbulent,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment
Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd.
This headwind will impact markets. On the domestic front
the tailwinds are getting stronger with the latest Q4 GDP growth data coming at
7.4 per cent, which is much better-than-expected, he added.
On the sectoral front, IT, financial service, metal,
media, services and commodities were major laggards, as FMCG, PSU Bank, Realty
and Energy were major gainers.
Trends in consumption expenditure and capital expenditure
are promising. This, along with low inflation and the expected continuation of
the rate cutting policy, provide the perfect setting for sustained economic
growth in FY26, said analysts.
The primary trend is bullish, but a short-term
consolidation is underway in the Nifty, they added.
Most Asian markets were trading in the red. Tokyo, Hong
Kong, Jakarta and Seoul were major losers. Due to public holiday, Shanghai
market was closed.
Meanwhile, the US market closed in the mixed zone on
Friday. Dow Jones was up 0.31 per cent and technology index Nasdaq was down
0.32 per cent.