Stock Market Today: Bears tighten grip on Dalal Street; Sensex below 76,000, Nifty near 23,600

Stock Market Today: Indian benchmark indices opened sharply lower on Thursday, tracking weak global cues and rising crude oil prices. Selling pressure was visible across sectors.

Benchmarks fall over 1 per cent at open

The BSE Sensex opened at 76,369.65 and slipped further to 75,975.11, down 888.60 points or 1.16 per cent at 9:15 am. The index had closed at 76,863.71 in the previous session.

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The Nifty 50 also started the session on a weak note. The index opened at 23,674.85 and declined to 23,591.30, falling 275.55 points or 1.15 per cent in early trade. During the opening minutes, the Nifty touched an intraday high of 23,690.85.

Oil surge raises inflation worries

Meanwhile, WTI crude prices surged past USD 100 per barrel, increasing concerns about inflationary pressures and global economic stability. The sharp rise in oil prices has added to market nervousness as investors assess the potential impact on global growth and input costs.

Broad-based sectoral decline

Sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange witnessed broad-based selling pressure during early trade.

Nifty Auto, PSU Bank and Nifty Realty faced the sharpest declines, with all three sectors falling by more than 2 per cent at the opening.

Other sectors also traded lower. Nifty FMCG declined 1.4 per cent, Nifty IT slipped 0.43 per cent, and Nifty Pharma fell 0.98 per cent.

Gold, silver remain elevated

In commodity markets, precious metals remained elevated amid global uncertainty. Gold was trading around Rs 1,61,629 per 10 gm for 24 karat, while silver was trading near Rs 2,67,121 per kg.

Asian markets under pressure

Asian markets also witnessed heavy selling pressure on Thursday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 2 per cent to 53,832, Singapore’s Straits Times fell 0.80 per cent to 4,825, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.49 per cent to 25,508.

South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.34 per cent to 5,534, while Taiwan’s Weighted Index slipped 1.47 per cent to 33,643.

US markets end mixed

In the United States, markets ended mixed on Wednesday. The S&P 500 declined 0.08 per cent to close at 6,775, while the Nasdaq ended marginally higher with a gain of 0.08 per cent at 22,716.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.61 per cent to close at 47,417.