Several blue-chip stocks among the 30 companies listed on the Sensex experienced declines in early trading today. Prominent among these were HDFC Bank, ITC, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Zomato, and Hindustan Unilever.
Business News: Domestic stock markets witnessed a downturn today, with both the Sensex and Nifty trading in the red. The Indian stock market remained under pressure due to weak Asian markets and continuous capital outflow by foreign investors. In early trading, the BSE Sensex fell by 393.01 points to 75,546.17, while the NSE Nifty slipped by 118.95 points to 22,813.95. However, the rupee showed slight strengthening against the dollar, offering some support to the market.
Asian markets displayed a weak trend on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, South Korea's Kospi, and China's Shanghai Composite all experiencing losses. However, US markets closed positively on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Brent crude prices in the international oil market fell by 0.32% to $75.80 per barrel.
Performance of Major Stocks
According to a PTI report, in early trading, HDFC Bank, ITC, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Zomato, and Hindustan Unilever saw the steepest losses among the top 30 Sensex companies. Conversely, Infosys, Reliance Industries, and Adani Ports witnessed gains. According to stock market data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth ₹1,881.30 crore on Wednesday, contributing to the selling pressure in the market.
Rupee Gains 19 Paise
Due to reduced demand for the US dollar and softening crude oil prices, the Indian rupee strengthened by 19 paise in early trading on Thursday, reaching 86.79 per dollar. The rupee opened at 86.88 per dollar in the interbank foreign currency exchange and improved after initial trades, settling at 86.79. This represents a gain of 19 paise compared to the previous closing price of 86.98. While the rupee had closed at 86.98 per dollar on Tuesday, down by 10 paise, it showed improvement on Thursday.
