Share Market Opening Bell! Sensex in green, Nifty in red – banking and financial stocks drag

The Indian market on Thursday opened mixed near flatline following mismatch in global cues, as Sensex opened in the green and Nifty in red, dragged by Nifty Bank down 100 points ahead of expiry.

The BSE Sensex marginally gained over 43 points or 0.08 per cent to 55987,  while Nifty50 fell by 6.7 points or 0.04 per cent to 16628 at the open today. In the broader markets, the mid-cap index outperformed benchmarks and soared by 96 points or 0.35 per cent to 27459 at open on Thursday.     

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Of 50 scrips on Nifty50, 20 advanced, 30 declined minutes after the market open today. Asian Paints surged most at the open today by around 1 per cent, followed by Tata Consumers, Adani Ports, HCL Tech and HDFC surging between 0.5-1 per cent.

On the contrary, Bharti Airtel slumped most by over 1.5 per cent on the back of fundraising news, perhaps, followed by Power Grid, Eicher Motor, Axis Bank, and HDFC Bank down between 0.5-1 per cent at the market close on Thursday. 

Almost all sectoral indices opened in the red today, except Nifty Metal, IT, and Realty with marginal gains. Banking and financial services dragged the Nifty Index most at the market open today. 

Globally, the US markets on Wednesday ended with mild gains as markets await Federal Reserve rates outlook at the Jackson Hole meeting on Friday. Dow Jones closed higher by 35 points.

Asian markets on Thursday opened mute with the indices consolidating after a volatile week with most indices retracing most losses as Taiwan, South Korea, and Hang Seng bounce back sharply.

Another important trigger to domestic markets, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) on Wednesday sold shares worth Rs 1071.83 crore in cash and Rs 151.39 crore in index futures.

The Nifty on Wednesday closed flat after hitting new highs as markets succumbed to profit-booking ahead of derivative contracts expiry today, while Midcaps again saw smart outperformance.