New Delhi, 25 August (H.S.): The domestic equity market remained under pressure in early trading on Tuesday amid weak signals from global markets. The session began on a negative note, although buying emerged immediately after the opening, helping the Sensex recover and briefly move into positive territory within the first five minutes. The gains, however, proved short-lived as selling pressure resurfaced, pushing the index back into the red. Amid continued buying and selling, the Sensex was down 0.21 per cent and the Nifty 0.33 per cent after the first hour of trading.
The BSE Sensex opened 73.62 points, or 0.10 per cent, lower at 77,295.49. Buying soon after the opening lifted the index by nearly 95 points from its opening level to an intraday high of 77,390.72, taking it into positive territory.
However, the recovery failed to sustain. Selling pressure subsequently returned, sending the index back into negative territory. At 10:15 a.m., after the first hour of trading, the Sensex was down 164.58 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 77,204.53.
The NSE Nifty also opened lower, declining 43.30 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 24,175.75. Buying in the opening minutes pushed the index more than 20 points above its opening level to 24,198.25. Despite the initial buying, the Nifty failed to recover into positive territory.
As selling pressure intensified following the initial five minutes of trade, the index continued to weaken. At 10:15 a.m., the Nifty was trading at 24,139.45, down 79.60 points, or 0.33 per cent.
A total of 2,832 stocks were actively traded in the market at that point. Of these, 1,231 were trading in positive territory, while 1,601 were in the red. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, only four were trading higher, while 26 were under selling pressure. Of the 50 Nifty constituents, six were trading in positive territory and 44 were declining.
Among the major stocks, Adani Ports, SBI Life Insurance, Trent Ltd, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were trading with gains ranging from 0.02 per cent to 0.38 per cent after the first hour of trading.
On the other hand, shares of HCL Technologies, Cipla, Hindalco Industries, Adani Enterprises and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (TMPV) were trading lower, with declines ranging from 0.94 per cent to 1.43 per cent.
In the previous trading session on Monday, the Sensex had closed 171.72 points, or 0.22 per cent, lower at 77,369.11. The Nifty had ended Monday's session at 24,219.05, down 32.95 points, or 0.14 per cent.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
