Indian stock markets opened the week on a weak note, with the Sensex falling nearly 94 points and the Nifty slipping below the 25,000 mark in early trade. Selling in major IT stocks and profit-booking after a sharp seven-session rally weighed on the benchmarks.
Mumbai, November 9 — Indian equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Monday, as investors booked profits following the recent sharp rally and selling pressure emerged in heavyweight information technology stocks.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 93.95 points to 80,919.19, while the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 30 points to 24,968.80 in early trading.
IT stocks face selling pressure
Technology stocks were among the major drags on the market during the early session.
HCL Tech, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services were among the prominent laggards, along with Power Grid, Bharti Airtel and UltraTech Cement.
Banking stocks showed relatively stronger performance, with State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank among the gainers. InterGlobe Aviation also traded higher.
The early weakness came after a substantial rally in domestic equities.
During the previous week, the Sensex surged 6,568.49 points, or 8.82%, while the Nifty gained 1,977.25 points, or 8.57%.
The sharp rise increased the possibility of investors booking some profits at higher levels.
Investors await inflation data
Market participants are also watching upcoming domestic inflation numbers.
Analysts said Thursday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data could provide an important directional cue for equities, while investors continue to monitor global developments surrounding technology and AI-related stocks.
Asian markets, however, were largely positive during the session, with South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng trading higher.
Brent crude was also trading lower at around $98.16 per barrel, providing some support to sentiment in the oil-importing Indian economy.
Muhurat session ends marginally lower
The benchmarks had also ended marginally lower during the special Diwali Muhurat trading session on Sunday, following a seven-day rally.
The Sensex closed 28.62 points lower at 80,999.40, while the Nifty declined 43.95 points to 24,986.40.
The early Monday decline therefore reflected some consolidation after the strong recent run, with investors weighing lower crude prices and foreign inflows against profit-booking and weakness in IT shares.
