New Delhi, 08 June (H.S.):

India's domestic equity markets remained under pressure during early trading on Monday, with both benchmark indices opening sharply lower amid widespread selling. Although buying interest emerged after the opening bell and helped pare some of the losses, the market continued to trade in negative territory during the first hour of the session.

After the first hour of trading, the BSE Sensex was down 0.76 per cent, while the NSE Nifty had declined 0.78 per cent.

Among the major gainers during early trade were Apollo Hospitals, Power Grid Corporation of India, State Bank of India, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Max Healthcare, which were trading higher by between 0.67 per cent and 1.05 per cent.

On the other hand, Wipro, InterGlobe Aviation, Eternal, Hindalco Industries and Shriram Finance emerged as the biggest losers, falling between 1.98 per cent and 5.40 per cent.

Active trading was recorded in 2,768 stocks during the early session. Of these, 800 shares were trading in the green with gains, while 1,968 stocks were trading lower. Among the 30 constituent stocks of the Sensex, only five were trading in positive territory, whereas 25 remained under selling pressure. Similarly, within the Nifty 50 index, nine stocks were trading higher while 41 were in the red.

The BSE Sensex opened at 73,421.61, down 821.73 points from its previous close. Persistent selling pressure immediately after the opening dragged the index to an intraday low of 73,318.94. However, buying activity later helped the benchmark recover a portion of its losses. At 10:15 a.m., after one hour of trading, the Sensex was quoted at 73,680.60, down 562.74 points.

The NSE Nifty also started the session on a weak note, opening 286 points lower at 23,080.70. The index subsequently recovered some ground as investors stepped in to buy selected stocks. At 10:15 a.m., the Nifty was trading at 23,184.05, down 182.65 points from the previous session's close.

The weak opening followed losses recorded in the previous trading session. On Friday, the Sensex had closed 116.67 points, or 0.16 per cent, lower at 74,243.34. The Nifty had ended the day down 49.85 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 23,366.70.

Market participants remain focused on domestic economic indicators, global market trends and sector-specific developments, which are expected to influence trading sentiment throughout the day.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar