After three consecutive days of gains, domestic benchmark indices opened in the red on Thursday amid weak global cues, as selling pressure was witnessed in the IT and auto sectors during early trade.
As of 9:27 am, the Sensex was trading 338.13 points, or 0.44%, lower at 76,706.16, while the Nifty declined 120.75 points, or 0.52%, to 23,316.45.
The Nifty Bank index was up 62.25 points, or 0.12%, at 53,180.00. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 52,300.65, down 44.90 points, or 0.09%. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index stood at 16,347.85, marginally lower by 1.40 points, or 0.01%.
According to market watchers, after a negative opening, Nifty may find support at 23,300, followed by 23,200 and 23,000. On the upside, 23,500 could act as immediate resistance, followed by 23,600 and 23,800.
In the Sensex pack, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Steel, TCS, L&T, M&M, Bajaj Finance, Titan, Asian Paints, Nestle India, and Tata Motors were among the top losers. Meanwhile, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, NTPC, and HDFC Bank emerged as the top gainers.
In the previous trading session, the Dow Jones in the US declined 1.73% to close at 39,669.39. The S&P 500 fell 2.24% to 5,275.70, while the Nasdaq dropped 3.07% to settle at 16,307.16.
In Asian markets, Jakarta was trading in the red, whereas Japan, Seoul, China, Bangkok, and Hong Kong were trading in the green.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their buying streak for the second day on April 16, purchasing equities worth ₹3,936.42 crore. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued selling for a second session, offloading equities worth ₹2,512.77 crore on the same day.
-IANS
