SENSEX and NIFTY50 open 0.5% lower led by sell-off in Axis Bank and ICICI Bank

Today, Indian equity benchmark indices began the trading session negatively, with the NIFTY50 and SENSEX trading in the red. Similarly, the broader markets also traded lower. Additionally, Nifty Media was the top gainer, while Nifty Metal was the top loser in the early trading session. The India VIX has slightly gained by 2.2%, trading above the 12 mark.

Domestic equity markets are wobbling as bears take over, influenced by weak overnight Wall Street cues following disappointing earnings from mega-cap technology stocks. This has promoted a flight to safety among market participants and raised concerns that the bull market's AI-driven gains may have gone too far too fast.

Volatility is also likely to be the hallmark amidst July F&O expiry.

On Wednesday, July 24, 2024, foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded shares worth ₹5,130.90 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth ₹3,137.30 crore.

At 09:25 am, the SENSEX was trading significantly lower by 0.81%, below the 79,600 level, while the NIFTY50 was also trading down by 0.8%, below the 24,300 level. Furthermore, Nifty Bank substantially declined by 1.1%, trading below the 50,800 level.

Broader Indices

Looking at the broader indices, the Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading in the red, down by 0.67%, below the 56,400 level, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 declined by 0.36%, trading around the level of 18,670. Market breadth is skewed in favor of declines.

Sectoral Performance

Within the sectoral landscape, Nifty Media (+0.27%) and Nifty FMCG (+0.17%) are the only major sectors trading positively, while Nifty Metal (-1.5%), Nifty Bank (-1.16%), and Nifty Financial Services (-1.05%) are trading negatively.

Top Gainers and Losers

In the NIFTY50 space, SBI Life Insurance Company (+2.2%), L&T (+1.06%), and Tata Motors (+1.02%) are among the top gainers. On the other hand, Axis Bank (-5.5%), Hindalco Industries (-2.07%), and Tata Steel (-1.7%) are among the top losers.

U.S. Markets

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at multi-week lows on Wednesday, ending the S&P's long run without a daily decline of over 2%, as disappointing earnings from Alphabet and Tesla dented investor confidence in mega-cap stocks.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield dropped by 41 basis points to 4.26%, and the U.S. 2-year bond yield decreased by 47 basis points to 4.41%.

Commodities

Oil prices fell on Thursday, driven by concerns over weak demand in China, the world's largest crude importer, and expectations of an imminent ceasefire in the Middle East. This outweighed gains from the previous session's U.S. inventory draws.

Brent crude futures for September dropped 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $81.33 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for September decreased 33 cents, or 0.4%, to $77.26 per barrel.

Stocks in F&O Ban

Stocks banned for trading in the F&O segment on July 25, 2024, are Vodafone Idea and India Cements.