Indices open lower on weak global cues; NIFTY50 at 24,943, SENSEX down 117 points; financial stocks drag

Snapping its four-dayrally, the Indian stock market opened lower on Wednesday, August 20, amid weak global cues and foreign fund outflows.

The broader market also traded lower in the early session, with both Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 losing 0.13% and 0.14%, respectively.

Except for Nifty IT (0.33%) and Nifty Consumer Durables (0.11%), all other sectors slipped into negative territory on Tuesday. Nifty Media (-1.09%), Nifty Private Bank (-0.44%) and Nifty Pharma (-0.26%) were the biggest losers. Nifty Bank also fell 0.37% to the 55,657.10 level.

According to exchange data, on Tuesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹634.26 crore on a net basis, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased ₹2,261.06 crore worth of equities.

On the global front, Asian indices were seen lower on Wednesday ahead of a key meeting of central bankers later in the week.

Japan's Nikkei slipped 1.83%, South Korea's KOSPI declined 2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.78%, and the Shanghai Composite was also trading lower by 0.06%.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 declined on Tuesday, driven by tech stocks, as investors wait for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s guidance on interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 44,922.27, the S&P 500 fell 37.78 points, or 0.59%, to 6,411.37, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 314.82 points, or 1.46%, to close at 21,314.95.

As many as 2,506 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 1,110 were trading in the green, 1,319 were trading in the red, and 77 shares remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market breadth was declining.

Meanwhile, 40 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while only 12 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 40 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 14 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading 0.61% up at 11.86 levels.

As many as 13 stocks advanced in the early session on the NIFTY50 index, while 37 declined.

Shriram Finance was the biggest laggard, tumbling 1.55%, followed by Bajaj Finance (-1.35%), Jio Financial Services (-1.06%), Tata Motors (-1%) and Hindalco Industries (-0.81%).

On the contrary, Infosys (1.73%), Bharti Airtel (1.54%), Eternal (1.21%), NTPC (1.18%) and HDFC Life Insurance (0.72%) were the biggest-gaining stocks on the 50-share index.