Stock market: Sensex slips 192 pts, Nifty below 25,750; Bajaj Finance, IndiGo lead losers

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened lower on Tuesday, pressured by lingering global trade uncertainty and sustained foreign investor selling. Market sentiment also remained cautious as investors awaited key quarterly earnings announcements.

At 9:18 am, the BSE Sensex was down 192.43 points, or 0.23%, to 83,053.75. The NSE Nifty declined 55.80 points, or 0.22%, to 25,529.70. 

Among Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance slipped 1.36% to Rs 958. InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) declined 0.96%, while Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra and Eternal fell 0.92%, 0.88% and 0.76%, respectively.

Asian markets traded mostly in red. At last check, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading 1.22% lower at 52,931.11, while South Korea’s Kospi gained marginally 0.05% to 4,907.23. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.03% to 26,554.48.

Wall Street ended lower overnight, with all three major indices closing in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.17% to 49,359.33, while the S&P 500 edged 0.06% lower to close at 6,940.01. The tech-savvy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.06% to settle at 23,515.39.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Sensex settled 324.17 points, or 0.39% lower, at 83,246.18, while the Nifty declined 108.85 points, or 0.42 per cent, to end at 25,585.50.

Indian equity markets are likely to witness continued volatility in the near term as global geopolitical tensions weigh on investor sentiment, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Vijayakumar highlighted that both Western powers have hardened their positions, signaling that the instability is not a passing phase. However, a major wildcard remains the potential legal developments in Washington.

"A new development is likely today if the US Supreme Court ruling on Trump tariffs goes against President Trump. But there is no certainty on whether the ruling will happen today. If it does, the ruling might change the scenario completely overnight," Vijayakumar said.

"Investors can watch the developments and continue to follow a policy of nibbling at high-quality stocks on declines," Vijayakumar added.