Market opening: SENSEX falls 1,333 pts, NIFTY50 at 22,705 on weak global cues; Tata Steel, JSW Steel top losers, VIX up 10%

The Indian stock market opened lower on Monday, March 23, as investors remained cautious amid geopolitical tensions, crude oil prices and a weakening rupee.

The broader market also opened with sharp cuts as the Nifty Midcap 100 lost 2.19% while the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 2.48%.

All the sectoral indices were trading in red during the opening session, with Nifty PSU Bank (-3.17%) being the top loser, followed by Nifty Consumer Durables (-2.7%), Nifty Realty (-2.58%), Nifty Auto (-2.29%) and Nifty Private Bank (-2.04%).

Meanwhile, the domestic currency crashed 33 paise to hit a fresh all-time low of 93.86 against the US dollar in early trade.

According to exchange data, on Friday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹5,518.39 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹5,706.23 crore on a net basis.

In March so far, the foreign investors have pulled out ₹88,180 crore from the Indian equities following rising tensions in West Asia, a weakening rupee and elevated crude oil prices.

On the global front, the markets in Asia were trading sharply lower on Monday as conflict escalated in the Middle East and entered its fourth week on Monday.

Japan's Nikkei fell 3.36%, China's Shanghai Composite dropped 1.55%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged 2.6% and South Korea's KOSPI crashed 5.2%.

Further, the US stocks ended lower on Friday amid surging crude-oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.96%, the S&P 500 index dropped 1.51% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 2.01%.

The market participants will track key macroeconomic data, including provisional manufacturing and services PMI readings from the US, UK, and Japan, as well as consumer sentiment and jobless claims for direction.

Market statistics

As many as 2,836 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 258 advanced, 2,515 declined, and 63 shares remained unchanged.

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

Meanwhile, 11 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while 469 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 23 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 52 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading at 25.11 levels, rising 10.06%.

Top gainers and losers

Except for ONGC (1.06%), all the 49 stocks on the NIFTY50 index opened lower on Monday.

Tata Steel (-3.4%), JSW Steel (-2.91%), State Bank of India (-2.85%), Jio Financial Services (-2.78%) and Hindalco Industries (-2.72%) were the top laggards during the opening session.