New Delhi, 18 May (H.S.): India’s domestic equity markets remained under pressure during early trading hours on Sunday, weighed down by weak global cues. The benchmark indices opened in negative territory and continued to decline as selling pressure intensified after the opening bell.

Although buyers attempted to support the market intermittently through selective buying, the heavy wave of selling prevented any meaningful recovery in the movement of both key indices. By 10 a.m., the BSE Sensex was trading down 1.36 percent, while the NSE Nifty had declined 1.33 percent.

Among the blue-chip stocks, shares of Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Coal India, and Wipro were trading in positive territory, registering gains ranging from 0.13 percent to 0.99 percent by 10 a.m.

On the other hand, Tata Steel, Power Grid Corporation, Shriram Finance, Trent Limited, and Adani Ports emerged among the top losers, declining between 2.25 percent and 4.13 percent.

A total of 2,744 stocks were actively traded in the market during early dealings. Of these, 425 stocks advanced and traded in the green, while 2,319 stocks declined and remained in the red.

Similarly, out of the 30 constituent stocks of the Sensex, only six were trading with gains, whereas 24 stocks remained under selling pressure. In the Nifty 50 index, 12 stocks were trading higher, while 38 stocks were trading in negative territory.

The BSE Sensex opened lower by 430.02 points at 74,807.97. As trading progressed, selling pressure intensified, dragging the index further down despite intermittent buying support from investors. By 10 a.m., the Sensex had plunged 1,026.08 points to trade at 74,211.91.

Likewise, the NSE Nifty opened with a sharp decline of 161.30 points at 23,482.20. Continued selling pressure pushed the index further down to an intraday low of 23,317.10. Amid ongoing volatility marked by persistent buying and selling activity, the Nifty was trading 314.10 points lower at 23,329.40 by 10 a.m.

Earlier, on the final trading session of the previous week on Friday, the Sensex had closed 160.73 points, or 0.21 percent, lower at 75,237.99. Similarly, the Nifty ended the session down by 46.10 points, or 0.19 percent, at 23,643.50.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar