Stock market today: Sensex falls 554 pts, Nifty below 23,950; Adani Ports, Infosys shares down 2%

Domestic benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened on a negative note on Thursday, mirroring subdued trends across Asian markets as optimism around the fragile US-Iran ceasefire waned and caution persisted amid geopolitical uncertainty. 

At 9:15 am, the BSE Sensex was down 554.58 points, or 0.72%, to 77,008.32, while the NSE Nifty declined 175.75 points, or 0.73%, to 23,821.60.

Among Sensex constituents, Adani Ports slipped 2.10% to Rs 1423.15. Infosys fell 1.98%, while Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement and HCL Tech were down 1.63%, 1.40% and 1.28%, respectively.

“There are some concerns surrounding Israeli attack on Lebanon and its fallout on the ceasefire. If crude again spikes in response to this development, the uptrend witnessed yesterday will be at risk of losing stream,” said Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd.

Gift Nifty

While Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange were also 160 points, or 0.66 per cent, down at 23,939, hinting at a negative start for the domestic market.

“Overall, the market setup suggests a gap-down or weak start after a strong rally, with high chances of profit booking and consolidation in early trade. Traders are advised to adopt a cautious approach, prefer buy on dips near support levels, and avoid aggressive long positions at higher levels," said Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Ltd.

Broader Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.55% to 55,997.18, while South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.23% to 5,800.18, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.36% to 25,800.93. 

Wall Street ended higher overnight, with all three major indices closing in the green. The S&P 500 gained 2.51% to settle at 6,782.81, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.85% to settle at 47,909.92. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.80% to 22,634.99.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the Sensex surged 2946.32 points, or 3.95%, to settle at 77,562.90, while the Nifty jumped 873.70 points, or 3.78%, to close at 23,997.35.