Indices slip in the red after opening with gains; NIFTY50 below 25,200, SENSEX down 89 points; Tech Mahindra top loser

The Indian stock market opened with marginal gains on Thursday, July 17, as investors kept their wait-and-watch stance on the back of US-India trade talks and Q1 earnings announcements.

On Wednesday, Trump indicated that the ongoing negotiations between India and the US for a much-anticipated interim trade deal are on track and it could be sealed soon. India and the US have been holding negotiations for the trade pact primarily to keep the tariffs below 20%.

Among sectors, Nifty IT was seen lower ahead of Wipro’s earnings, which are due later. Nifty Realty (0.81%) and Nifty Pharma (0.72%) were the top gainers.

The broader market was seen outperforming in the early session, with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.15% and 0.35%, respectively.

According to exchange data, on Wednesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹1,858.15 crore on a net basis, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased ₹1,223.55 crore worth of equities.

Globally, shares in Asia were trading mixed as investors remain nervous about Japan’s trade data and Trump’s plan to fire Powell.

Japan's Nikkei was trading up 0.26% at 39,765.98 levels, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.14% at 24,482.99 levels.

The Shanghai Composite remained flat, while South Korea’s Kospi index declined 0.02% to 3,185.69.

Stocks on Wall Street settled with modest gains on Wednesday amid reports of Trump being set to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The Nasdaq Composite closed at a new record high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 231.49 points, or 0.53%, to 44,254.78, and the S&P 500 rose 19.94 points, or 0.32%, to 6,263.70. The Nasdaq Composite ended at 20,730.49, gaining 52.69 points, or 0.26%.

As many as 2,506 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 1,380 were trading in the green, 1,042 were trading in the red, and 84 shares remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market breadth was in favour of advances.

Meanwhile, 47 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while only 10 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 47 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 16 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading 0.35% lower at 11.20 levels.

Sun Pharma led the gainers’ pack with 0.88%, followed by Hindalco Industries (0.68%), Apollo Hospitals (0.57%), Tata Motors (0.50%), and Bharat Electronics (0.43%).

On the flip side, Tech Mahindra (-1.11%) was the top losing stock following its June quarter earnings. SBI Life Insurance (-0.93%), ICICI Bank (-0.89%), Eternal (-0.88%), and HDFC Life Insurance (-0.79%) were the top losers on the 50-share index.