India’s benchmark indices opened lower on Monday, pressured by disappointing third-quarter corporate earnings and a sharp decline in Asian shares, which weighed heavily on investor sentiment.

The Sensex dropped 433 points, or 0.57 percent, to 75,756.52, while the Nifty 50 declined by 128.45 points, or 0.56 percent, to 22,963.75 as of 9:32 AM.

Top gainers on the Nifty included Britannia, HUL, ICICI Bank, and Dr. Reddy’s Labs, while HDFC Bank, Infosys, NTPC, Bharat Electronics, Hindalco, Trent, and Axis Bank saw the largest declines. All sectoral indices, except realty, were trading in the red.

Analysts cited consistent selling pressure for the dip in the indices.

Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities, said: “The strategy should be to reduce weak long positions below the 22,950 level. However, if the index falls to 22,600 during the week, investors should consider buying select stocks with a medium to long-term view.”

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to sell, intensifying the market pressure. FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 2,658 crore on Friday, reflecting their cautious stance amid global uncertainties.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided some support with net purchases of ₹Rs 2,450 crore, though this wasn’t sufficient to counteract the broader weakness.

Mandar Bhojane, equity research analyst at Choice Broking, said: “Overall, the markets remained under pressure, with investors exercising caution ahead of key global and domestic events. Traders are advised to closely monitor price action at critical support and resistance levels before making significant moves.”

This week’s market outlook will be shaped by the upcoming Union Budget, ongoing Q3 earnings reports, and global economic indicators, including crude oil prices, the dollar index, and US GDP growth data. The Union Budget will be presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.

(With inputs from IANS)