FIRST TRADE: Indices take a breather after record rally; Sensex slips over 200 pts; Nifty below 20,900

Stock market today: Domestic equity indices on Thursday, December 7, opened in negative territory after hitting record highs in previous sessions as investors booked profits in recent outperformers. Selling was witnessed in all the sectors except auto, metal, and oil & gas.

Last seen, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 195.2 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 69,458.53, and the NSE Nifty was down 53.65 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 20,884.05.

Nifty Mid Cap 100 and Small Cap 100 opened in the red.

High-beta Nifty Bank was down 0.52 per cent at 46,591.9.

"There are three factors that can keep the market resilient. One, steady decline in U.S. bond yields (10-year around 4.1 per cent now) has created a global environment favourable for equities. Two, India’s GDP growth rate is improving and inflation is coming down. The steadily declining crude price is another big positive. Three, political uncertainty surrounding the 2024 General elections appears to be out of the way after the crucial state election results. These factors have emboldened the bulls and bears have been forced to cover their short positions," said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Vijayakumar added despite these favourable factors, there will be dips in the market triggered by profit booking at higher levels. 

BUZZING STOCKS

Delta Corp shares were up over 1 per cent after its subsidiary got interim relief in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) demand draft case. 

Bharat Electronics shares were up over 2 per cent on BSE after it bagged worth Rs 3,915 crore.

Patanjali Foods, Thomas Cook, and MMTC shares traded in green after the price band lifted from 5 per cent to 10 per cent.

Conversely, Paytm shares were down 10 per cent and hit the lower circuit after RBI's risk weight increased concerning personal loans, the company will focus on offering higher-ticket-size loans. 

Bharti Airtel shares were down over 1 per cent after multiple block deals took place.

IDFC First Bank shares traded over 3 per cent lower after multiple block deals of 13.77 crore shares took place. 

Ircon International shares were down over 7 per cent after the centre said it would sell eight holdings in the railway firm through an OFS. 

GLOBAL MARKETS 

Asia-Pacific shares slipped with Wall Street on Thursday, while a sharp fall in oil prices to a five-month low promised to further reduce inflationary pressures and helped boost the global bond market.

(With agency inputs) 

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