Mumbai’s bustling stock market kicked off Tuesday’s trading session on a sour note, painting a red picture across major indices. At 9:23 AM, the Sensex slipped 175 points or 0.21% to hover at 83,098, while the Nifty shed 78 points or 0.31%, settling at 25,572. The early pressure came predominantly from metal stocks, which emerged as the biggest drag on the benchmarks.
Nifty Metal and Nifty Commodities topped the list of losers, reflecting broader weakness in industrial sectors. Other indices like Nifty Private Bank, Oil & Gas, Financial Services, Realty, Services, Infra, Energy, and PSU Bank also posted declines, underscoring a cautious sentiment among investors. This broad-based sell-off signals potential headwinds from global commodity trends and domestic economic cues.
Amid the downturn, pockets of resilience shone through. Nifty India Defence, IT, Pharma, and FMCG indices traded in green, offering some counterbalance to the negativity. These defensive sectors appeared to attract buyers looking for stability in uncertain times.
Smallcap and midcap segments showed a mixed bag. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index edged up marginally by 5.60 points to 17,056, while the Nifty Midcap 100 dipped 125 points to 59,597. This divergence highlights varying investor appetites across market caps.
In the Sensex pack, gainers included Asian Paints, Infosys, BEL, Indigo, HCL Tech, ITC, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, SBI, L&T, and Titan, buoyed by sector-specific positives. On the flip side, Eternal, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Trent, HDFC Bank, and NTPC faced selling pressure.
Global markets presented a patchy landscape. Tokyo and Hong Kong opened higher, but Bangkok traded lower. Markets in Shanghai, Seoul, and Jakarta remained closed. Commodity markets mirrored the weakness, with crude oil prices dipping—Brent crude fell 0.38% to $68.39 per barrel, and WTI crude dropped 0.27% to $63.39 per barrel.
Precious metals also weakened internationally. On Comex, gold declined nearly 1% to $4,969 per ounce, while silver tumbled about 2% to $75 per ounce. Investors will watch upcoming economic data and geopolitical developments closely for directional cues as the session progresses.