FIRST TRADE: Indices retreat lower for fifth session; Nifty falls 0.25% to 23,824

Indian equities opened lower for the fifth consecutive day in Wednesday's trade mirroring weak sentiment in Asian markets. At the open, Nifty was down 0.25 per cent or 58.6 at 23,824.85, while Sensex fell around 0.08 per cent or 60.78 to 78,614.4.

The sentiment has turned bearish after the domestic CPI came in at 14-month high- above RBI's comfort zone at over 6 per cent.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities said, "Bears are dominating Dalal Street, with a pessimistic outlook driven by rising US bond yields amid inflation concerns following Donald Trump's 2024 election win. Fears of Trump’s tariff plans, especially on China, are weighing on emerging markets like India, while metal stocks such as NMDC and VOLTAS struggle due to China’s underwhelming stimulus."

Despite record Mutual Fund SIP inflows and falling oil prices, Nifty and Bank Nifty remain bearish, he added.

Asian markets 

Most Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, tracking losses in Wall Street as a post-election rally fizzled, while anticipation of key U.S. inflation data also spurred risk aversion mood. The MSCI Asia ex Pacific index traded 0.71 per cent lower.

Hang Seng continued to see the drag with the drag of 0.61 per cent, while the Nikkei index down even more by over 1 per cent.