Stock Market Today: Bears return after 4 days of gains; Sensex slips 287 points; Nifty below 25,900

Stock Market Today: Indian equity benchmarks opened in the red on Thursday, tracking weak global cues and early selling in frontline stocks.

At 9:15 AM on February 12, the BSE Sensex was trading at 83,946.83, down 286.81 points or 0.34 per cent. The index opened at 83,968.43 against its previous close of 84,233.64.

The Nifty 50 stood at 25,878.70, lower by 76.35 points or 0.29 per cent. The benchmark opened at 25,906.70.

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Indian equity benchmarks traded under pressure on Thursday, led by heavy selling in information technology stocks. Weakness was visible across segments, including midcaps and smallcaps.

IT stocks weigh on frontline index

More than 30 stocks on the Nifty50 index were trading with losses.

Infosys led the decline, falling 3.5 per cent. Other laggards included Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, and Wipro.

Selling was also seen in InterGlobe Aviation, Mahindra & Mahindra, SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, Hindalco Industries, and Titan Company.

On the positive side, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Eicher Motors, Axis Bank, Power Grid Corporation of India, Coal India, and Hindustan Unilever lent some support to the index.

Broader markets underperform

In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap index dropped 0.78 per cent. The Nifty SmallCap index slipped 0.98 per cent.

On the NSE, the Nifty 100 declined 0.33 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.45 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 was down 0.69 per cent. The decline across segments indicated broader weakness beyond largecaps.

Sectoral snapshot

The Nifty IT index was the worst hit, falling 3.75 per cent.

Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank edged lower by around 0.5 per cent each.

Among other sectors, Nifty Auto declined 0.34 per cent, Nifty Metal lost 0.26 per cent, and Nifty Realty fell 0.66 per cent.

On the other hand, Nifty Private Bank and Nifty FMCG added 0.1 per cent each, offering limited support.

Commodities and global cues

In the commodities market, gold prices declined 0.43 per cent to Rs 1,58,079 per 10 grams for 24 karat gold. Silver prices fell 0.77 per cent to Rs 2,61,000 per kilogram at the time of filing this report.

As per fund flow data for Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers at Rs 943.8 crore in the cash market. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers at Rs 125.4 crore.

Asian markets traded mixed on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.92 per cent to 27,016. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.14 per cent, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.61 per cent. South Korea’s markets surged 2.70 per cent. Taiwan’s market remained closed for a holiday.

In the US, the S&P 500 ended nearly flat at 6,941. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.11 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed marginally lower by 0.13 per cent.