BT Opening Bell | Sensex slips 524 pts, Nifty below 23,950; Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki lead losers

Domestic benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened lower on Tuesday, tracking weak cues from global markets and rising tensions in West Asia that have kept crude oil prices high. Investors would also be watching key Q4 earnings announcements today.

At 9:17 am, the BSE Sensex declined 191.58 points, or 0.25%, to 77,077.82, after falling as much as 524 points in early trade, while the NSE Nifty slipped 77 points, or 0.32%, to 24,042.30, briefly touching a low of 23,949.40.

Among Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance slumped 1.35% to Rs 937.35. Maruti Suzuki slipped 1.25%, while Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, and L&T dropped 0.89%, 0.90% and 0.86%, respectively.

The sentimental boost from the BJP's election victory in West Bengal will not last, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, noting that market trends would be influenced by developments in West Asia, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz.

“The resumption of hostilities in the Hormuz region and Brent crude again spiking to around $113 are headwinds for the market. Also the US-10-year bond yield rising to 4.44% and rupee sliding to 95.23 level are unfavourable from the FPI flows perspective,” Vijayakumar added.

Asian & US markets

Broader Asian markets traded lower today. While Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi are closed today for public holiday, Children's Day. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slumped 1.06% to 25,818.87. 

Wall Street ended on a lower note overnight, with all three major indices closing in the red. The S&P 500 declined 0.41% to close at 7,200.75, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.13% to end at 48,941.90. The Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.19% to settle at 25,067.80.

“Overall, the technical setup indicates a flat opening followed by range-bound and volatile trade,” said Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Ltd.

Shah said the immediate range for the 50-pack index is seen between 23,800 and 24,300. “While the broader trend remains positive, the short-term structure suggests consolidation, and a decisive breakout above resistance levels is required for further upside,” he added.

Previous session

In the previous session on Monday, the Sensex gained 355.90 points, or 0.46%, to settle at 77,269.40, while the Nifty advanced 121.75 points, or 0.51%, to close at 24,119.30.