New Delhi, 05 August (H.S.): India's domestic equity markets witnessed mixed trading during the opening hour on Wednesday. Both benchmark indices opened on a strong note, but selling pressure emerged immediately after the opening bell, dragging the Sensex and the Nifty lower. Buying interest returned after the first 20 minutes of trading, helping both indices recover. After the first hour of trade, the Sensex was up 0.46 percent, while the Nifty was trading with a marginal gain of 0.02 percent.

Supported by strong global cues and declining crude oil prices, the BSE Sensex opened 626.43 points, or 0.80 percent, higher at 79,055.38. However, intense selling pressure during the initial 20 minutes pulled the index down by more than 300 points from its opening level to an intraday low of 78,745.61. Fresh buying subsequently helped the index recover. At 10:15 a.m., after the first hour of trading, the Sensex was up 359.31 points at 78,788.26.

The NSE Nifty also opened higher, gaining 54.30 points, or 0.22 percent, to start the session at 24,669.20. Selling pressure soon pushed the index into negative territory, where it slipped to an intraday low of 24,581.55. Renewed buying later helped the benchmark trim its losses. At 10:15 a.m., the Nifty was trading 3.75 points higher at 24,618.65.

During the first hour of trading, 2,774 stocks were actively traded on the exchanges. Of these, 1,979 advanced, while 795 declined.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 24 stocks were trading in the green, supported by buying interest, while six were in negative territory. On the Nifty, 22 of the 50 constituent stocks were trading higher, whereas 28 were trading lower.

Among the frontline gainers during the opening hour were Larsen & Toubro, InterGlobe Aviation, HDFC Life, Shriram Finance and NTPC, which gained between 1.19 percent and 1.90 percent.

On the losing side, Apollo Hospitals, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, TCS, SBI Life Insurance and HCL Technologies declined between 1.01 percent and 2.16 percent.

In the previous trading session on Tuesday, the Sensex had closed 210.08 points, or 0.27 percent, lower at 78,428.95. The Nifty ended the day down 159.40 points, or 0.64 percent, at 24,614.90.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar