Sensex, Nifty open lower as Infosys and Zomato drag

Mumbai, May 13 (IANS) Indian equity indices opened in the red on Tuesday as heavyweights like Infosys, Eternal (Zomato) and Kotak Mahindra Bank were top losers in the BSE benchmark.

At around 9:25 am, Sensex was down 444 points or 0.54 per cent at 81,985 and Nifty was down 105 points or 0.42 per cent at 24,817.

After a negative opening, Nifty can find support at 24,800 followed by 24,700 and 24,500. On the higher side, 25,000 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 25,100 and 25,200, according to analysts.

In the Sensex pack, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, Titan, HUL and Axis Bank were top gainers. Infosys, Eternal (Zomato), Tata Steel, HCL Tech, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, ITC, NTPC, HDFC Bank were top laggards.

On the sectoral front, auto, IT, financial services, FMCG, metal, realty and media were major losers. PSU bank, pharma, realty and PSE were major gainers.

Marginal buying was seen in the smallcap and midcap stocks. Nifty midcap 100 index was up 20 points to 55,437 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was up 38 points to 16,805.

Following yesterday's stupendous rise, Indian benchmark indices will likely consolidate recent gains, while we anticipate continued buyer interest in mid-cap and small-cap stocks at lower levels, according to Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities.

Most Asian stock markets were trading in green. Tokyo, Bangkok, Seoul and Shanghai were major gainers. However, Hong Kong was in red.

The US markets closed in the green as investors cheered a sharp de-escalation in the U.S.-China trade war. America main indices Dow was up 2.81 per cent and technology index Nasdaq was up 4.35 per cent in the last trading session.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities of Rs 1,246 crore on May 13, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also bought equities of Rs 1,488 crore on the same day.

“Given the current market dynamics, traders are advised to adopt a disciplined approach with strict risk management, focusing on short-term trading opportunities. Considering prevailing global uncertainties, it is also prudent to avoid large overnight positions and enforce tight risk controls,” said Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst, Choice Broking.

--IANS

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