Market opening: NIFTY50 at 25,961, SENSEX dips 102 points as rupee hits another record low; IT stock shines, IndiGo top loser

The Indian equity market opened lower for the fourth straight session on Thursday, December 4, weighed down by a weak domestic currency and cautious sentiment ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s December repo rate announcement. Persistent foreign fund outflows also made investors nervous.

The rupee slipped 28 paise to another record low of 90.43 in the early session against the US dollar.

The broader market was also seen in red in the early trade, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 losing 0.03% and 0.36%, respectively.

Among sectors, Nifty Media (-0.71%), Nifty Consumer Durables (-0.56%), and Nifty Realty (-0.34%) were the top laggards, while Nifty IT (0.86%), Nifty Metal (0.35%), and Nifty Auto (0.14%) were the only gainers.

According to exchange data, on Wednesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹3,206.92 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹4,730.41 crore on a net basis.

Globally, indices in Asia were trading mixed on Thursday, as weak economic data strengthened expectations the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates at its meeting next week.

South Korea's KOSPI slipped 0.98%, while Japan's Nikkei soared 1.46%, the Shanghai Composite gained marginally by 0.04%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.26%.

On Wall Street, the main indices ended close to record highs, higher on Wednesday. Stocks broadly got a lift from easing Treasury yields in the bond market.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.86%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.17%.

As many as 2,637 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 1,369 advanced, 1,175 declined, and 93 shares remained unchanged.

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

Meanwhile, 13 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while 112 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 31 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 22 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading at 11.1 levels, falling 1.02%.

IndiGo parent InterGlobe Aviation was the biggest losing stock, declining 1.22%, followed by Max Healthcare (-0.89%), Hindustan Unilever (-0.85%), Titan Company (-0.73%) and Eternal (-0.72%).

On the flip side, TCS (1.26%), HCL Technologies (0.88%), Eicher Motors (0.73%), Wipro (0.7%) and JSW Steel (0.62%) were the top gainers on the 50-share index.