Market opening: SENSEX down 625 points, NIFTY50 below 25,800 as metal, IT stocks drag, SMIDs remain under pressure; Asian Paints top loser

The Indian stock market opened lower for the second straight session on Tuesday, December 9, as pressure remained in mid- and small-cap stocks, while weakness in metal and IT counters added to the drag. A weak global sentiment also made the investors nervous.

The decline follows comments from US President Donald Trump hinting at potential new tariffs on Indian rice, raising concerns that trade negotiations between the two countries may remain unsettled.

The broader market was also trading lower in the early trade, with both Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 declining 0.83% and 0.87%, respectively.

Among sectors, all the gauges were opened in red, with Nifty Media (-1.41%) taking the lead, followed by Nifty Metal (-0.96%), Nifty IT (-0.93%), Nifty Auto (-0.81%), and Nifty PSU Bank (-0.73%).

According to exchange data, on Monday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹655.59 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹2,542.49 crore on a net basis.

Globally, most of the Asian markets were trading lower as investors turned cautious about the pace of easing by the Federal Reserve beyond this week's expected rate cut.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.85%, Taiwan Weighted declined 0.29%, South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.68%, and China's Shanghai Composite tumbled 0.13%, while Japan's Nikkei was trading 0.32% higher.

On Wall Street, major indices ended lower on Monday, with most S&P 500 sectors slipping, as Treasury yields climbed and investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision due in two days.

The S&P 500 index declined 0.35%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.45%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.14%.

As many as 2,733 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which only 377 advanced, 2,301 declined, and 55 shares remained unchanged.

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

Meanwhile, 7 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while 338 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 21 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 42 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading at 11.47 levels, rising 3.1%.

Asian Paints was the biggest laggard, slumping 2.95%, followed by Trent (-1.98%), Jio Financial Services (-1.48%), Hindalco Industries (-1.29%), and Eternal (-1.14%).

On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever (0.48%), Bharti Airtel (0.31%), Cipla (0.21%) and Grasim Industries (0.03%) were the only gainers.