New Delhi, 13 July (H.S.): Domestic equity markets staged a recovery during early trading on Monday after opening sharply lower amid heightened geopolitical tensions in West Asia. The benchmark indices had initially declined by nearly 0.70 percent under the impact of weak global cues. Trading remained volatile during the first 20 minutes of the session before strong buying interest emerged, helping both the Sensex and the Nifty recover a significant portion of their early losses.

After the first hour of trading, the Sensex had trimmed its losses to 0.36 percent, while the Nifty was down 0.38 percent.

Among the major gainers during the first hour were TCS, HCL Technologies, ONGC, NTPC and HDFC Life, with their shares advancing between 0.63 percent and 2.61 percent. On the other hand, InterGlobe Aviation, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finserv and Nestlé India traded lower, declining between 1.09 percent and 1.87 percent.

Active trading was witnessed in 2,743 stocks during the session. Of these, 1,287 traded in positive territory, while 1,456 remained in the red. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, eight stocks were trading with gains and 22 with losses. Similarly, in the 50-share Nifty index, 12 stocks advanced while 38 declined.

The BSE Sensex opened 602.04 points, or 0.78 percent, lower at 76,963.35. Selling pressure in early trade pushed the index down to an intraday low of 76,857.43. However, sustained buying after the initial 20 minutes enabled the benchmark to recover from its day's low. At 10:15 a.m., after the first hour of trading, the Sensex was down 280.84 points at 77,288.55.

The NSE Nifty also opened weak, falling 167.50 points, or 0.69 percent, to 24,039.40. The index slipped further to an intraday low of 24,000.20 during the opening minutes before buying support improved market sentiment. At 10:15 a.m., the Nifty was trading 92.65 points lower at 24,114.25.

On the previous trading session, Friday, the Sensex had ended 827.57 points, or 1.08 percent, higher at 77,569.39, while the Nifty had gained 244.10 points, or 1.02 percent, to close at 24,206.90.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar