FIRST TRADE: Equity indices open lower; Sensex down 144 pts at 81,676, Nifty at 25,021

Indian equities tracking weak sentiment globally after overnight losses in the US started lower. At the open, Nifty was trading 0.14 per cent lower at 25,021.5, while the Sensex was down 0.18 per cent or 144 poimts at 81,676.14.

Bank Nifty, however, traded with marginal gains. While the broader markets also traded similar to frontline indices with a marginal drag.

Sectorally, financial services,  PSU Bank, metals and oil and gas stocks traded in the green, while all other saw selling pressure with the highest cut on the Nifty FMCG pack.

From the Nifty pack, top gainers included stocks like SBI Life Insurance, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Bajaj Finserv and Asian Paints, while laggards were Trent, TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan and HUL.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "The main force behind the ongoing global rally in stocks has been the steadily climbing US market. The fact that S&P 500 made 46 new highs this year indicates the strength of this bull market led by the US. The rally has the fundamental support of a strong US economy and decent corporate earnings growth."

Even though the Middle East geopolitics has been a dampener, it didn’t spike crude prices and therefore, there is no threat to inflation which remains under control allowing the Fed to cut rates. The consensus now is the soft landing scenario for the US economy and, this is the strong support to this bull market, added Vijaykumar.

Stocks in action

Cochin Shipyard stock traded with a cut of over 2 per cent as OFS opened for non-retail investor category.

Asian markets

Asian markets traded mixed with Japan's Nikkei down over 1 per cent, while Hang Seng and Straits Times traded higher.

Catch all the latest stock market updates here. For all other news stories in buzzing categories like technology, automobiles and personal finance, and much more, visit Zeebiz.com.

 
​