New Delhi, 13 August (H.S.): The domestic stock market remained under pressure during early trading on Thursday, with both benchmark indices trading in negative territory. The session began on a mixed note, with the Sensex opening higher while the Nifty started almost flat with a marginal decline. Selling pressure emerged soon after the market opened, pushing both indices further into the red.
After the first 20 minutes of trading, buyers stepped in and attempted to support the market, leading to some recovery in both indices. However, despite the renewed buying interest, the benchmarks continued to trade below their previous closing levels. After the first hour of trading, the Sensex was down 0.23 per cent, while the Nifty had declined 0.39 per cent.
The BSE Sensex opened 145.56 points, or 0.19 per cent, higher at 78,111.91. It touched 78,119.39 within the first minute of trading before selling pressure dragged the index lower.
Persistent selling caused the Sensex to fall more than 400 points from its opening level within the first 20 minutes, taking it to an intraday low of 77,709.63 in the red.
Buying interest subsequently emerged, providing some support to the index and helping it recover from the day's low. However, the selling pressure remained strong enough to keep the Sensex in negative territory. At 10:15 a.m., after the first hour of trading, the index was down 178.67 points at 77,787.68.
The NSE Nifty, meanwhile, opened with a marginal decline of 4.35 points, or 0.018 per cent, at 24,431.60. Selling intensified immediately after the opening bell, pushing the index more than 110 points below its opening level to an intraday low of 24,316.30.
The subsequent buying activity helped the Nifty recover some of its losses, but the prevailing negative sentiment prevented the index from moving into positive territory. At 10:15 a.m., the Nifty was trading 94.40 points lower at 24,341.55.
Among major stocks, Tech Mahindra, Shriram Finance, Apollo Hospitals, Jio Financial Services and Max Healthcare were trading higher, with gains ranging from 0.66 per cent to 1.32 per cent.
On the other hand, Grasim Industries, Hindalco Industries, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries and Titan Company were among the major laggards, declining between 1.35 per cent and 2.28 per cent.
During the early session, 2,633 stocks were actively traded in the market. Of these, 1,499 shares were trading in positive territory, while 1,134 were in the red.
Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 11 stocks were trading higher, supported by buying interest, while 19 were trading lower amid selling pressure. On the Nifty, 16 of the 50 constituent stocks were in positive territory, while 34 were trading with losses.
In the previous trading session on Wednesday, the Sensex had closed 187.90 points, or 0.24 per cent, lower at 77,966.35. The Nifty had ended the session at 24,435.95, down 35.75 points, or 0.15 per cent.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
