New Delhi, 01 October (H.S.): India’s domestic equity market showed signs of recovery in early trading on Thursday after opening lower, with buying activity helping the benchmark Sensex and Nifty pare some of their initial losses.

Both indices extended their weakness shortly after the market opened before buyers returned, improving overall market sentiment. After the first hour of trading, the Sensex was down 0.06 per cent, while the Nifty was trading 0.21 per cent lower.

The BSE Sensex opened 287.40 points, or 0.40 per cent, lower at 72,192.89. Selling pressure at the start of the session pushed the index marginally lower to 72,187.62.

Buying subsequently gathered momentum, helping the Sensex recover. Shortly before 10 a.m., the index moved into positive territory. Continuing purchases lifted it by more than 90 points to an intraday level of 72,572.90 shortly after 10 a.m.

The recovery was later moderated by profit-taking. Amid continued buying and selling activity, the Sensex was trading at 72,438.80 at 10:15 a.m., down 41.49 points, or 0.06 per cent.

The NSE Nifty followed a similar pattern. The index opened 76.75 points, or 0.34 per cent, lower at 22,543.70. Selling pressure immediately after the opening bell pulled it down by around 35 points to 22,508.05.

The index then recovered as buying interest strengthened. Shortly after 10 a.m., the Nifty climbed to 22,610.60. However, renewed selling before it could enter positive territory pushed the index lower again.

At 10:15 a.m., the Nifty was trading at 22,573.70, down 46.75 points, or 0.21 per cent.

Market breadth remained weak during the early session. A total of 2,938 stocks were actively traded, of which 923 were in positive territory and 2,015 were trading with losses.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 10 stocks were trading higher, while 20 remained in the red. On the Nifty, 15 of the 50 constituent stocks were trading with gains, compared with 35 that were declining.

Among major companies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tata Consumer Products were among the stronger performers after the first hour, gaining between 1.39 per cent and 3.05 per cent.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, Grasim Industries, Eternal, Eicher Motors and Shriram Finance were among the notable laggards, declining between 2.09 per cent and 6.91 per cent.

The market had also ended the previous session on a weaker note. On Wednesday, the Sensex closed 48.78 points, or 0.07 per cent, lower at 72,480.29, while the Nifty ended 95.75 points, or 0.42 per cent, down at 22,620.45.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar