Indices open marginally lower, SENSEX down 124 pts, NIFTY50 below 26,150 as IT stocks drag, Infosys top loser

The Indian stock market opened marginally lower on Tuesday, December 23, weighed down by IT stocks amid continued foreign fund outflows.

The broader market was trading mixed in the early trade, with the Nifty Midcap 100 losing 0.06% while the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.15%.

Among sectors, Nifty IT was the biggest loser, declining 1.28%, followed by Nifty FMCG (-0.19%) and Nifty Realty (-0.18%). On the other hand, Nifty Metal (0.54%), Nifty PSU Bank (0.41%), and Nifty Oil & Gas (0.35%) were the gainers.  

According to exchange data, on Monday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹457.34 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹4,058.22 crore on a net basis.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher for a second straight session on Tuesday following overnight gains on Wall Street. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.5%, China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.34%, South Korea's KOSPI gained 0.45%, and Japan's Nikkei was trading up 0.05%.

On Wall Street, the US stocks closed higher to kick off the holiday-shortened trading week on Monday, buoyed partly by a continued rebound by technology stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.47%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.64%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.52%.

As many as 2,716 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which only 1,435 advanced, 1,161 declined, and 120 shares remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market's breadth is favourable towards advances.

Meanwhile, 70 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while 13 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 38 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 14 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading at 9.58 levels, falling 1%.

As many as 33 stocks advanced, while 17 declined in the opening session on the NIFTY50 index.

Infosys was the biggest laggard, tumbling 1.82%, followed by Max Healthcare (-0.75%), TCS (-0.73%), Asian Paints (-0.7%) and Tech Mahindra (-0.66%).

On the flip side, Coal India (2.27%), ONGC (0.82%), Power Grid (0.79%), Bajaj Finance (0.73%) and Shriram Finance (0.6%) were the biggest gaining stocks on the 50-share index.