MUMBAI: Stock markets benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened with modest gains on Thursday but soon slipped into negative territory, tracking sluggish global markets and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Fresh foreign fund outflows also weighed on investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 108.02 points to 82,623.16 in early trade, while the 50-stock NSE Nifty advanced 38.70 points to 25,180.10. However, both indices later turned red. The Sensex was down 178.60 points at 82,331.42, and the Nifty traded 57.15 points lower at 25,093.75.
Among Sensex constituents, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance and Larsen & Toubro were among the top gainers. Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors and Eternal led the laggards.
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi and China’s Shanghai Composite were trading in positive territory, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices slipped. US markets closed lower on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs446.31 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
“The recent flattish trend in the markets is likely to continue in the near term since there are no clear positive triggers that can push the market much higher,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. He added that the spike in Brent crude to $70 due to heightened security risks in the Middle East is negative for India.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude edged down 0.42 per cent to $69.48 a barrel.
On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex had gained 123.42 points or 0.15 per cent to close at 82,515.14, while the Nifty added 37.15 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 25,141.40.
