New Delhi, 28 October (H.S.): Indian equity markets remained under pressure in early trading on Wednesday, with the benchmark Sensex and Nifty witnessing sharp losses amid volatile movements and renewed selling. Both indices opened in the red, extended their declines shortly after the opening bell and attempted a brief recovery as buying emerged at lower levels. However, the rebound proved short-lived, with selling pressure returning across the market.

After the first hour of trading, the BSE Sensex was down 1.09 per cent, while the NSE Nifty was trading 0.84 per cent lower.

The Sensex opened at 73,253.44, down 345.23 points, or 0.47 per cent. Selling intensified soon after the market opened, dragging the index to an intraday low of 72,772.48. Weakness in heavyweight information technology stocks, including Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), contributed to the initial decline.

The market subsequently witnessed some recovery as investors stepped in to buy stocks at lower levels. Strong buying interest in shares of companies such as Bharti Airtel provided additional support, helping the Sensex rebound from its intraday low to a high of 73,316.46.

The recovery, however, failed to sustain momentum. Selling resumed, pushing the index lower once again. At 10.15 a.m., after the first hour of trading, the Sensex was down 805.47 points, or 1.09 per cent, at 72,793.20.

The Nifty followed a similar trajectory. The index opened at 22,678, down 71.75 points, or 0.32 per cent. As selling pressure mounted after the opening, it slipped to an intraday low of 22,540.70.

Buying at lower levels subsequently helped the index recover to 22,691.50. However, the rebound lost steam, and renewed selling dragged the Nifty lower. At 10.15 a.m., the index was trading at 22,557.85, down 191.90 points, or 0.84 per cent.

Market breadth remained weak during the morning session, with declining stocks outnumbering advancing shares.

A total of 2,837 stocks were actively traded at the time. Of these, 1,304 were trading in positive territory, while 1,533 were in the red.

Among the 30 constituents of the Sensex, seven were trading with gains, while 23 were recording losses. On the Nifty, 16 of the 50 constituent stocks were in positive territory, compared with 34 that were trading lower.

Among the major stocks providing some support to the market, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was the leading gainer, rising 4.91 per cent. Bajaj Auto advanced 2.20 per cent, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise gained 1.61 per cent, State Bank of India (SBI) rose 0.81 per cent, and SBI Life Insurance climbed 0.77 per cent.

On the other hand, information technology stocks faced substantial selling pressure. Infosys declined 4.35 per cent, Tech Mahindra fell 3.20 per cent, TCS dropped 2.82 per cent, and HCL Technologies lost 2.75 per cent. ITC was also among the major laggards, slipping 1.85 per cent.

The weakness in heavyweight IT stocks weighed on the broader market, limiting the impact of buying in select sectors and individual counters.

In the previous trading session on Tuesday, the Sensex had closed marginally lower by 8.08 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 73,598.67. The Nifty had also ended slightly weaker, declining 3.45 points, or 0.02 per cent, to settle at 22,749.75.

The sharp early-morning declines on Wednesday marked a significant deterioration from the near-flat close recorded in the previous session, as investors navigated renewed selling pressure and weakness in major technology stocks.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar