Stock market news (September 24)Indian equities despite positive clues globally opened lower after record gains amid profit booking. Nifty at the start was down 0.09 per cent or 23.5 points at 25,915.55, while Sensex was down 174.47 or 0.21 per cent at 84,754.14.

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Sectorally, metal, oil & gas and pharma stocks traded in the green, while others including PSU Bank, IT and Realty traded in the red.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "Two trends deserve attention. The serious global geopolitical concern continues to be the Middle East where things are getting worse. Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed hundreds of people triggering concerns. Crude has inched up. Gold and the volatility index are moving up reflecting anxiety. However, the market remains resilient and the undertone continues to be bullish. Investors have to take a call based on these two trends."

From the Nifty pack, top gainers included stocks like Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Hindalco, Power Grid Corporartion and Adani Enterprises, while the losers included Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Wipro, HUL and LTIMindtree.

The preference for quality and fair value is getting stronger in India as reflected in the continuous rise in Bank Nifty for the eighth straight session. The return of FIIs into the market in September will aid recovery in frontline banking stocks, he added.
 
Meanwhile, Asian markets traded positively with Hang Seng most resilient with gains of over 2 per cent on reports of more stimulus measures from Beijing, while Australian markets lagged before a Reserve Bank meeting.