New Delhi, 31 August (H.S.):

The domestic equity market remained under pressure during early trading on Monday, with the Sensex and Nifty opening lower and extending their losses as selling intensified. Both benchmark indices briefly recovered after the opening bell on the back of buying support, but the gains soon faded as fresh selling emerged.

By around 10 am, the Sensex was down 0.50 per cent, while the Nifty had declined 0.59 per cent.

The BSE Sensex opened 133.78 points, or 0.17 per cent, lower at 77,130.73. Soon after trading began, buying support lifted the index to an intraday high of 77,177.27. However, selling pressure subsequently emerged and the Sensex continued to slide.

After nearly two hours of trading, the Sensex had fallen 386.49 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 76,878.02.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty opened 58.10 points, or 0.24 per cent, lower at 24,117.55. The index initially gained marginally on buying support and climbed to 24,128.70. However, sustained selling pushed the benchmark lower.

By 10 am, the Nifty had declined 143.15 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 24,032.50.

A total of 2,936 stocks were actively traded in the market during the session so far. Of these, 894 stocks were trading in positive territory, while 2,042 were in the red.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, only three stocks were trading with gains, while 27 were under selling pressure. In the Nifty pack, seven stocks were trading higher and 43 were trading lower.

Among major companies, shares of HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto, Coal India, ONGC and Apollo Hospitals were trading with gains ranging from 0.25 per cent to 1.58 per cent by around 10 am.

On the other hand, shares of Adani Enterprises, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, Shriram Finance and Infosys were witnessing declines ranging from 2.19 per cent to 3.05 per cent.

The weakness in the domestic market follows mixed global cues, with several Asian markets also facing selling pressure during Monday's trading session.

In the previous trading session on Friday, the Sensex had closed 330.92 points, or 0.43 per cent, higher at 77,264.51. The Nifty had also gained 84.80 points, or 0.35 per cent, to end the session at 24,175.65.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar