Stock markets open lower amid weakness in IT, Services shares

Benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened lower in a volatile session, dragged by IT and services stocks. Despite gains in select counters, investor caution persisted amid sectoral uncertainty, while Asian markets were mixed and Brent crude edged higher

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty began the trade on a negative territory on Wednesday, tracking losses in IT and Services stocks in a volatile session. After a bearish start, the 30-share BSE Sensex further declined 247.92 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 83,203.04.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 70.25 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 25,655.15.

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Among the Sensex constituents, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki India, Asian Paints, Trent, HDFC Bank, IndiGo, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank were the major laggards.

On the other hand, ITC, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Bharat Electronics Ltd, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharmaceutical and Bajaj Finance were the gainers.

“The volatility in IT stocks may continue, in response to incoming news relating to the sector. Overall, IT stocks may remain weak since uncertainty surrounding the sector is huge and large institutional investors are unlikely to invest big time in IT stocks, unless valuations become compelling,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

He added that there can be churns away from IT towards other sectors like banking and financials, automobiles, telecom, pharmaceuticals etc where there is good earnings visibility.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark was trading over 1 per cent higher. Markets in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea remained closed for trading on account of Lunar New Year holidays.

The US equities market ended higher in overnight deals on Tuesday.

Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 995.21 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 187.04 crore, according to the exchange data.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.22 per cent to USD 67.59 per barrel.

On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 173.81 points to close at 83,450.96. The 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 42.65 points to settle at 25,725.40.