SENSEX falls 46 points, NIFTY50 at 24,087 in volatile trade; pharma, IT stocks weigh, Dr. Reddy’s top loser

The Indian stock market opened flat to lower on Monday, September 15, dragged by weakness in IT and pharma stocks. The market also remained muted ahead of the wholesale inflation data scheduled for release later in the day.

The inflation data will provide a crucial indication of input cost pressures ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) policy meeting later this month.

Market investors also remain wary ahead of the US Federal Reserve rate cut decision this week. The Federal Reserve will conclude its two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday, September 17, with its rate decision. Amid cooling labour market concerns, investors are expecting a 25-basis-point (bps) rate cut. 

Among sectors, Nifty Pharma (-0.83%), Nifty IT (-0.63%), and Nifty Media (-0.04%) were the biggest losers. However, Nifty Realty (0.51%), Nifty Auto (0.36%) and Nifty Metal (0.26%) surged the most.

The broader market was, however, trading with gains, with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 advancing 0.11% and 0.28%, respectively.

On Friday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth ₹129.58 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹1,556.02 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.

The foreign investors have remained net sellers in the September series so far, offloading shares worth ₹9,245 crore. Conversely, the DIIs have maintained a strong buying momentum, acquiring shares valued at ₹27,147 crore.

Globally, the Asian stocks were seen trading mixed on Monday as investors remain cautious ahead of the Fed’s meeting.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was seen 0.48% higher, while the Shanghai Composite was trading up by 0.22%. South Korea's KOSPI and Japan's Nikkei 225 also gained 0.52% and 0.88%, respectively.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq closed at a record high close on Friday in a mixed trading session. The S&P 500 slipped 0.05% to end at 6,584.29, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.59% to 45,834.22, while the Nasdaq rose 0.45% to settle at 22,141.10.

As many as 2,683 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 1,650 were trading in the green, 946 were trading in the red, and 87 shares remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market breadth was in favour of positive.

Meanwhile, 53 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while 16 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 57 stocks also hit their lower circuits, while 21 stocks hit their upper circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading 3.75% higher at 10.50 levels.

Dr Reddy’s was the biggest losing stock, falling 1.53%, followed by Infosys (-1.27%), Sun Pharma (-0.89%), HDFC Life Insurance (-0.82%) and Shriram Finance (-0.81%).

On the flip side, Bajaj Finance (0.92%), Tata Motors (0.87%), Bajaj Auto (0.87%), Eternal (0.86%) and Hero MotoCorp (0.73%) were among top gainers.