New Delhi, 14 August (H.S.): The domestic equity market staged a recovery from its day's lows on Friday after coming under pressure during early trading. The market opened on a weak note, and selling pressure following the opening dragged both the Sensex and Nifty lower. However, buyers stepped in within the first 15 minutes, leading to a gradual improvement in both benchmark indices. After the first hour of trading, the Sensex was down 0.29 per cent, while the Nifty was trading 0.20 per cent lower.

The BSE Sensex opened at 77,903.43, down 176.53 points or 0.23 per cent from its previous close. Selling pressure intensified immediately after the opening bell, pulling the index down by 357.03 points within the first 15 minutes to an intraday low of 77,722.93.

Buying interest subsequently emerged, helping the index recover from its low. Amid continued bouts of buying and selling, the Sensex was trading at 77,857.26, down 222.70 points, at 10:15 a.m. after the first hour of trading.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty opened at 24,361.90, registering a decline of 33.95 points or 0.14 per cent. Selling pressure after the market opened pushed the index down by more than 90 points to 24,304.30. The emergence of fresh buying interest thereafter helped the index recover some of its losses.

At 10:15 a.m., after the first hour of trading, the Nifty was down 48.45 points at 24,347.40, amid continued volatility caused by alternating buying and selling activity.

A total of 2,793 stocks were actively traded in the market so far. Of these, 1,358 stocks were trading in positive territory, while 1,435 were in the red. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, eight stocks were trading higher on buying support, while 22 remained under selling pressure. On the Nifty, 18 of the 50 constituent stocks were trading in the green, while 32 were in negative territory.

After the first hour of trading, shares of major companies including Apollo Hospitals, Eternal, Adani Ports, Trent Ltd and Cipla were trading with gains ranging from 2.79 per cent to 0.62 per cent.

On the other hand, shares of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (TMPV), Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, Jio Financial and Max Healthcare were trading lower, with losses ranging from 4.96 per cent to 1.14 per cent.

In the previous trading session on Thursday, the Sensex had closed 113.61 points, or 0.15 per cent, higher at 78,079.96. The Nifty, however, ended 40.10 points, or 0.16 per cent, lower at 24,395.85.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar