Indian stock market opens flat, IT stocks under pressure

Mumbai, July 24 (IANS) The Indian stock market opened flat on Thursday as IT companies experienced selling pressure amid mixed global cues.

At 9.28 am, Sensex slipped 110 points or 0.13 per cent to 82,615 and Nifty slipped 13 points or 0.05 per cent to 25,206.

Sectorally, Nifty IT underperformed with a loss of 1.17 per cent. All other sectors show marginal dips to moderate gains. Bank stocks showed moderate losses up to 0.20 per cent.

Midcap and smallcap stocks saw selling pressure. Nifty midcap 100 index was down 0.39 per cent at 59,148 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was down 0.07 per cent at 18,879.

In the Nifty pack, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories led the gainers (3.07 per cent), followed by Tata Motors (1.51 per cent). Tata Consumer Products, Eicher Motors, JSW Steel and Tata Steel were other major gainers. Trent, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bajaj Finance were among losers in early trade.

"Market sentiment remains cautiously optimistic amid heightened volatility and mixed global cues. Nifty 50's rebound highlights buyer strength at lower levels. A sustained move above 25,250 could potentially open the path toward the 25,330 mark. On the downside, immediate support is placed at 25,125, followed by 25,000," said Hardik Matalia from Choice Equity Broking Private Limited.

The Bank Nifty outperformed the broader index, rising 454 points and forming a bullish candlestick, indicating renewed buying interest, he added.

Both Asian and US indices posted strong overnight gains, lending a positive backdrop for Indian markets as they open.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.14 per cent. Nasdaq rose 0.61 per cent, and the S&P 500 added 0.78 per cent.

According to analysts, the US striking trade deals with many countries is slowly removing concerns surrounding tariff wars. Good corporate earnings in the US are providing the fundamental support to the market.

In Asian markets, the Nikkei 225 continued a huge upswing for the second consecutive day (1.97 percent), and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite climbed 1.70 per cent. Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were in the green zone.

On July 23, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers for the fifth consecutive session, offloading stocks worth Rs 4,209 crore. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained strong buyers for the 12th straight day. They net purchased shares worth Rs 4,358 crore.

--IANS

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