SENSEX drops 400 points, NIFTY50 opens at 23,457 amid weak global cues; BEL, Tata Steel among top losers

At 9:15 am, the NIFTY50 opened 0.68% or 160.75 points lower at 23,457.25 points, compared to 23,618 points at the previous market close, according to the exchange data.

The BSE SENSEX index dropped 0.52% or 394.36 points at the opening bell on May 20 to 74,806.49 points, compared to 75,200.85 points at the previous market close, as per the official data.

The domestic markets were further pressured down by the 9th-day record low for the Indian rupee, as the currency weakened to 96.89 against the benchmark US dollar on May 20 amid a higher safe-haven greenback demand and foreign outflows.

Before the opening bell on Wednesday, the Nifty futures at the GIFT city were trading 0.44% lower at 23,410.50 points on May 20, according to the NSE data.

Data collected from the NSE website also showed that the foreign investors sold ₹2,457.49 crore worth of assets in a single day on Tuesday’s market session over fears of a falling rupee and elevated oil rates in the market.

Although foreign investors sold holdings, the domestic buyers continued to remain as key support for the benchmark indices, as the investors purchased ₹3,801.68 crore worth of assets on Tuesday.

Asian markets in red

The Asian markets were trading in the red zone after rising tensions gripped the risk appetite of global investors in equities on Wednesday, May 20. With the focus now on a potential US military strike on Iran by early next week, the investors were in search of any de-escalation efforts.

Latest global media reports showed that the United States has prepared its military forces for a “large-scale” attack on Iran, if the Gulf countries fail to negotiate a potential peace deal between the two nations.

MarketWatch data showed that the Asia Dow was down 1.04% to 6,311 points, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.3% to 59,764 points, Hong Kong-based Hang Seng index was down 0.86% to 25,576 points, while the Shanghai index was down 0.57% to 4,145 points on Wednesday.

Top gainers today

Out of 50 stocks listed on the benchmark NIFTY50 index, only 8 were trading in the green, while the remaining 42 stocks were down in the red as of the early market hours on Wednesday.

Hindalco up 3.3%, Cipla up 0.8%, Infosys up 0.3%, Sun Pharma up 0.2%, TCS up 0.2%, Reliance Industries up 0.2%, Wipro up 0.1%, and Tech Mahindra up 0.1% were the NIFTY50 gainers on May 20.

On the midcap stocks front, GE Vernova was trading 4.2% higher, Mankind Pharma was up 2.6%, Coforge up 2%, KPIT Technology up 1.8%, and OFSS was up 1.5% were among the top gainers in the early trading hours.

While the top gainers on the Nifty Smallcap 100 index were BLS International up 7.9%, Godawari Power up 4.4%, Welspun Corp up 2.7%, Natco Pharma up 2.7%, and Ola Electric was up 2.4% as of the early trends.

Top losers today

Tata Steel, BEL, JSW Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Grasim Industries, Maruti Suzuki India, were among the top losers on the NIFTY50 index on Wednesday.

Tata Steel was down 2.7%, BEL down 2.2%, JSW Steel down 1.6%, Mahindra & Mahindra lost 1.3%, Grasim Industries down 1.3%, and Maruti Suzuki India shares lost 1.3% as of the early market hours.

Among the midcap stocks on Nifty Midcap 100, PI Industries was down 7.8%, Bharat Dynamics down 2%, Adani Total Gas down 2%, Godfrey Phillips down 2%, and Coromandel International down 2.2% were the top laggards.

The top losers on the Nifty Smallcap 100 index were Cholamandalam Financial Holdings down 3.3%, Hindustan Copper down 2.8%, Karur Vysya Bank down 2.3%, IDBI Bank down 2.2%, and Devyani International, lost 2.1% on May 20.