Sensex, Nifty slide as global weakness and FII selling weigh on markets

Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks opened sharply lower on Thursday, tracking weak global cues and continued selling by foreign institutional investors after the recent rally.

At around 9:25 am, the BSE Sensex was down 671 points, or 0.85%, at 77,845, while the Nifty 50 fell 179 points, or 0.74%, to 24,198.

Broader markets showed mild divergence. The Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.34%, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 edged lower by 0.16%.

Most sectoral indices traded in the red, with only pharma and oil & gas managing gains. Auto and consumer durable stocks led the losses, declining over 1% each.

Technically, analysts see immediate support for Nifty in the 24,100–24,000 zone, while resistance is placed near 24,400–24,500.

In the previous session, markets had already shown weakness, with selling pressure emerging in banking and financial stocks after a strong run-up. IT stocks also remained subdued amid uncertainty in global markets, while defensive sectors such as FMCG and energy showed relative resilience.

Globally, Asian markets traded lower, with indices in China, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea all in negative territory. Overnight, however, US markets ended higher, with the NASDAQ Composite gaining 1.64%, the S&P 500 rising 1.05%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.69%.

Investor sentiment also remained cautious despite geopolitical developments, including comments from Donald Trump regarding a temporary ceasefire with Iran.

On the institutional front, foreign investors continued to offload equities. On April 22, FIIs sold shares worth ?2,078 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also turned net sellers, offloading ?1,078 crore worth of equities.

Despite the near-term pressure, analysts note that corporate earnings remain supportive, with early Q1 trends indicating steady growth and upward revisions in forward earnings estimates.

WIth inputs from IANS