Mumbai, Aug 5: Indian equity indices started Monday with significant losses due to negative cues from Asian markets. As of 9:42 am, the Sensex had dropped by 1,509 points or 1.86 percent to 79,460, while the Nifty was down by 465 points or 1.88 percent at 24,252. The overall market sentiment remained bearish, with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showing 110 shares in the green and 2,126 in the red.
There was notable selling pressure across small and medium stocks, with the Nifty midcap 100 index declining by 1,677 points or 2.90 percent to 56,236, and the Nifty smallcap 100 index falling by 598 points or 3.18 percent to 18,202. Nearly all sectors were trading in negative territory, with major declines seen in Auto, IT, PSU Bank, Financial Services, Realty, Energy, and Infra sectors.
Hardik Matalia, a Research Analyst at Choice Broking, attributed the global market's sharp decline to fears of a potential recession in the United States. He noted support levels for Nifty at 24,300, 24,250, and 24,200, with resistance expected at 24,500, 25,600, and 25,650.
Among Sensex components, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Power Grid, and Reliance were the top losers, while Sun Pharma, HUL, Asian Paints, and Nestle were among the gainers.
Another expert mentioned that the recent global stock market rally, driven by expectations of a soft landing for the US economy, was now threatened by disappointing US job creation data for July and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities amounting to Rs 3,310 crore on August 2, whereas domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,965 crore on the same day.
