Market opening: SENSEX down 300 points, NIFTY50 below 26,000 on weak global cues, Eternal top loser

The Indian stock market started the trading day on a negative note, with both the SENSEX and NIFTY50 experiencing declines. The SENSEX was down by 300 points, while the NIFTY50 slipped below the 26,000 mark. This downturn mirrored weak signals from global markets, coupled with a slump in IT and realty sector stocks.

Broader market indices also reflected this downward trend in early trading. The Nifty Midcap 100 decreased by 0.46%, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 saw a drop of 0.58%.

Sector-wise, most indices began the day in the red, with the exception of Nifty FMCG, which showed a slight gain of 0.14%. Nifty IT was the biggest loser, down by 0.79%, followed by Nifty Realty (-0.78%), Nifty Metal (-0.72%), and Nifty Private Bank (-0.68%).

The Indian rupee continued its decline, falling 5 paise to a new all-time low of 90.83 against the US dollar in early trading, adding to investor concerns.

Data from the exchanges indicated that on the previous trading day, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹1,468.32 crore. Conversely, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers, purchasing equities worth ₹1,792.25 crore.

Asian markets were also trading lower, continuing recent losses amid cautious investor sentiment ahead of key economic data releases from the US and the region. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.97%, Taiwan Weighted declined 1.65%, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 1.83%, and China's Shanghai Composite tumbled 1.22%. Japan's Nikkei was also down, trading 1.17% lower.

Wall Street's main indices closed lower on Monday, reflecting investor anxiety ahead of important economic data expected later in the week. The S&P 500 index decreased by 0.16%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.09%, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.59%.

Looking at the overall market picture, 2,701 stocks were traded on the NSE in the early session. Of these, 884 advanced, 1,740 declined, and 77 remained unchanged, indicating a market breadth favoring declines.

In early trading, 15 stocks reached their one-year highs, while 34 stocks touched their 52-week lows. Additionally, 37 stocks hit their upper circuits, and 17 hit their lower circuits.

The India VIX, a measure of market volatility, was trading at 10.19, down 0.58%.

The biggest loser on the NIFTY50 was Eternal, which fell by 3.12%. Other significant losers included Axis Bank (-2.27%), HCL Technologies (-1.17%), Infosys (-1.12%), and Tata Steel (-1.05%).

On the other hand, the top gainers on the 50-share index were Bharti Airtel (1.17%), Tata Consumer Products (1.06%), Apollo Hospitals (0.52%), SBI Life Insurance (0.5%), and Tata Motors PV (0.42%).