Mumbai’s stock market kicked off Tuesday in negative territory, pressured by weak cues from Wall Street. The BSE Sensex tumbled over 500 points from its opening level, reflecting broad-based selling across key sectors.
The benchmark index opened at 83,053, down 242 points, but quickly slid to a low of 82,725.30 amid heavy losses in IT heavyweights. By 9:30 AM, it was trading at 82,737.52, a decline of 557.14 points or 0.67%. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 mirrored the gloom, opening at 25,641.80 and dipping to 25,558.80, down 154.20 points or 0.60%.
All Nifty sectoral indices flashed red, with IT suffering the steepest fall of 3.34%. Auto, FMCG, and banking sectors also posted declines of 0.54%, 0.48%, and 0.12% respectively. Midcap and smallcap indices lagged further, with Nifty Midcap 100 down 0.72% and Smallcap 100 slipping 0.88%.
In the Sensex pack, 25 out of 30 stocks were in the red. HCL Tech, Interglobe Aviation, Infosys, TCS, Bharti Airtel, and Tech Mahindra led the losers. A few bright spots emerged in SBI, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Power Grid, Tata Steel, and Kotak Bank, which bucked the trend with modest gains.
Market analysts point to global uncertainties fueling the volatility. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned buyers on February 23, purchasing shares worth ₹3,843 crore after two days of selling, flipping to net buyers for the month. Domestic investors (DIIs), however, offloaded ₹1,292 crore.
Technically, Nifty faces resistance at 25,850-25,900, with support around 25,550-25,600. Experts advise caution amid heightened volatility. ‘Investors should adopt a selective approach, focusing on fundamentally strong stocks during dips,’ one analyst noted. Aggressive buying is risky at current levels; wait for a sustainable breakout above 26,000 for fresh opportunities. Risk management and stock-specific strategies remain key in this environment.