Indian stock market opens lower, Nifty below 22,850

Mumbai:  The Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Monday amid mixed global cues as selling was seen in auto, IT and PSU bank sectors in the early trade, as the upcoming reciprocal trade tariffs announced by the US government stayed on top of the investors’ mind.

At around 9.34 am, Sensex was trading 423.88 points or 0.56 per cent down at 75,515.33 while the Nifty declined 126.45 points or 0.55 per cent at 22,802.80.

Nifty Bank was down 177.75 points or 0.36 per cent at 48,921.70. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 49,503.50 after declining 150.65 points or 0.30 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 15,430.75 after rising 23.55 points or 0.15 per cent.

Experts said that as they observe the price action testing both the swing low and the lower boundary of the ‘Falling Wedge’ pattern, it indicates a bearish sentiment in the market.

“If a breakdown occurs, it could trigger a significant sell-off, leading to increased volatility and further downward movement in asset prices,” according to Sameet Chavan Of Angel One.

From a technical standpoint, any decisive breakdown below the 22800-22700 zone (lower band) could trigger fresh room for 22500-22400 in the near period, potentially a decline of nearly 15 percent from the all-time high, he noted.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, M&M, Tata Steel, Infosys, TCS, Nestle India, NTPC, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top losers. Whereas Bajaj FinServ, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Tata Motors and IndusInd Bank were the top gainers.

In the last trading session Dow Jones declined 0.37 per cent to close at 44,546.08. The S&P 500 declined 0.01 per cent to 6,114.63 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.41 per cent to close at 20,026.77.

In the Asian markets, Jakarta, Seoul and Japan were trading in green. Whereas Bangkok, China and Hong Kong were trading in the red.

On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their selling streak for the eighth consecutive session, offloading equities worth Rs 4,294.69 crore on February 14. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 4,363.87 crore on the same day.

–IANS