New Delhi, 19 August (H.S.): Domestic equity markets remained under pressure during early trading on Wednesday, with the benchmark Sensex and Nifty slipping into negative territory after a brief recovery following a subdued opening.
The market opened with marginal losses, but buying emerged immediately after the opening bell, pushing both indices into the green within minutes. However, the recovery proved short-lived as selling pressure returned, sending the benchmarks back into the red. After the first 20 minutes, buyers again attempted to support the market, resulting in a modest recovery in both indices. After the first hour of trading, the Sensex was down 0.31 per cent and the Nifty 0.29 per cent.
The BSE Sensex opened 17.41 points lower at 77,218.05. Buying in the opening minutes helped the index gain nearly 130 points from its opening level, taking it to an intraday high of 77,347.81 within the first five minutes.
Selling pressure subsequently intensified, dragging the Sensex down by more than 260 points to an intraday low of 76,971.59. Buyers then returned to the market and attempted to provide support, leading to a gradual recovery.
Amid continued buying and selling activity, the Sensex was trading at 76,993.54 at 10:15 a.m., down 241.92 points, or 0.31 per cent, after the first hour of trading.
The NSE Nifty also opened marginally lower, declining 2.85 points to 24,152.05. Buying immediately after the opening bell lifted the index by more than 20 points to 24,172.85 within the first five minutes, briefly pushing it into positive territory.
However, selling pressure soon emerged and dragged the Nifty back into the red. Continued selling during the initial 20 minutes pulled the index down by nearly 90 points to 24,065.10. Subsequent buying provided some support, although the recovery remained limited.
At 10:15 a.m., after the first hour of trading, the Nifty was quoted at 24,084.75, down 70.15 points, or 0.29 per cent.
A total of 2,791 stocks were actively traded in the market at that stage. Of these, 1,186 stocks were trading with gains, while 1,605 were in negative territory. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, nine stocks were trading higher and 21 were trading lower. In the Nifty 50, 16 stocks were in the green, while 34 were trading in the red.
Among major stocks, Eternal, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, HCL Technologies, Infosys and Dr Reddy's Laboratories were trading with gains ranging from 0.62 per cent to 0.97 per cent after the first hour of trading.
On the other hand, shares of Coal India, Power Grid Corporation, SBI Life Insurance, Hindalco Industries and Bharat Electronics were trading lower, with losses ranging from 1.02 per cent to 1.92 per cent.
In the previous trading session on Tuesday, the Sensex had ended 492.70 points, or 0.63 per cent, lower at 77,235.46. The Nifty had declined 132.75 points, or 0.55 per cent, to close at 24,154.90.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
