Benchmark indices were trading lower in the opening session amid increasing concern over Russia-Ukraine dispute. At 09:16 IST, the Sensex was down 135.20 points or 0.23 per cent at 57756.81, and the Nifty was down 39.60 points or 0.23 per cent at 17265. About 734 shares have advanced, 1128 shares declined, and 74 shares are unchanged.
Among the Sensex-30 constituents, NTPC, Maruti, M&M, Tata Steel, L&T, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank and SBI were the top gainers. Wipro, Tech M, HDFC Bank, Nestle Infosys, HCL Tech, meanwhile, were the top losers. In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were also in the negative territory, down 0.4 per cent each.
Sectorally, the Nifty Metals index was the top outlier, trading 0.64 per cent up, followed by Nifty PSU Bank, Auto and Realty, all marginally higher. On the other hand, Nifty IT index was the top loser, down 0.7 per cent in line with its US peer tech heavy-Nasdaq index’s fall on Thursday.
Among stocks, Torrent Power was up 1.25 per cent on the BSE as rating agency CRISIL has upgraded the long term credit rating of non-convertible debentures and long term bank facilities of the company to ‘AA+/Stable’ from ‘AA/Positive’ considering continued strong profitability and sustained improvement in the leverage levels. CRISIL has also reaffirmed its rating on the short-term bank facilities and commercial paper program at ‘A1+’.
Key benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower for a second day on Thursday in a volatile session after a selloff in banking and IT stocks amid lingering geopolitical concerns. The 30-share BSE Sensex finally ended 104.67 points or 0.18 per cent lower at 57,892 points.Nifty dropped 17.60 points or 0.10 per cent to settle the day at 17,304.60 – marking its second straight session of loss.
Mohit Nigam, head – PMS, Hem Securities, said: “Benchmark Indices are likely to open flat to positive tracking mixed global cues as prospects of lower oil prices due to easing Iran sanction outweigh concerns on Ukraine invasion. US markets ended lower tracking losses across technology stocks amid increasing tension over Russia-Ukraine dispute.”
Global Cues
Wall Street endured an ugly session, with losses deepening throughout the day as more officials warned of attack. The S&P 500 fell 2.1 per cent, its biggest drop in two weeks and first decline in three days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 600 points and the Nasdaq composite slid 2.9 per cent. The losses wiped out the major indexes’ weekly gains.
Asian markets slipped on Friday and stood gold at an eight-month high after an exchange of fire in eastern Ukraine and renewed US warnings of an imminent Russian invasion had investors looking for safety ahead of the weekend. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, was down 0.3 per cent in early trade. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.4 per cent. Korean shares and Australian shares each fell 1 per cent.
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