Indian equity benchmarks opened lower on Wednesday, with the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 trading in the red amid global cues and selling pressure. Buying in information technology stocks, including TCS, Infosys and HCL Technologies, provided some support to the market.
Investor activity was mixed in early trade. While IT and select consumer stocks attracted buying, several banking, pharmaceutical and financial services stocks faced selling pressure. Global cues and trading activity also influenced market movements.
The Sensex fell 118.17 points, or 0.16%, to 72,915.61 in early trade on Wednesday. The Nifty 50 declined 53.55 points, or 0.24%, to 22,668.40.
Market breadth indicated that declines outnumbered advances, although several stocks continued to trade in positive territory. A total of 1,231 stocks advanced, while 1,377 declined and 162 remained unchanged.
The Nifty IT index led sectoral gains, rising 1.47% to 30,269.60. Buying in IT stocks provided support as the benchmark indices traded lower. The Nifty FMCG index also advanced 0.42%.
Other major sectoral indices traded lower. The Nifty Bank declined 0.30%, the Nifty Financial Services index fell 0.57%, and the Nifty Pharma index dropped 0.75%. The Nifty PSU Bank index lost 0.97%, while the Nifty Realty index declined 0.49%.
The divergent performance across sectors reflected selective buying in early trade, with gains concentrated in IT and FMCG stocks while several other sectors remained under pressure.
Among major Nifty constituents, IT stocks recorded gains. TCS advanced 2.91%, while HCL Technologies rose 1.65% and Infosys gained 1.52%. Tech Mahindra also traded higher, rising 1.19%.
Outside the IT sector, Nestle India gained 1.63% and Coal India advanced 1.22%. Buying in these stocks helped limit the impact of declines in the broader market during early trade.
Several stocks traded lower amid selling pressure. Shriram Finance declined 1.33%, while BSE Ltd fell 1.03%. Hindalco dropped 0.86% and Bajaj Finance declined 0.83%.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories lost 0.73%, while Adani Ports traded 0.48% lower. Selling in banking and financial services stocks contributed to the weakness in the benchmark indices at the start of Wednesday's session.
