The Indian benchmark indices opened marginally lower on Thursday, as persistent volatility and mixed global cues continue to weigh on investor confidence.
As of 9.25 am, Sensex was down 91 points, or 0.11 per cent at 81,807 and Nifty was down 24 points, or 0.096 per cent at 25,081.
Amid concerns over FII outflows and US visa curbs, traders are looking for cues from the Q2 corporate earnings, pinning their hopes on a trade deal between the US and India.
The broadcap indices, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100, dipped by 0.04 per cent. Hindalco, Dr. Reddy's Labs, ONGC, Tata Steel, and Tata Consumer were among major gainers on the Nifty pack, while losers included Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Titan Company, Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT, the top loser, lost 0.23 per cent. Nifty Auto (down 0.21 per cent) and Nifty Private Bank (down 0.14 per cent) also weighed down on the indices. Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma made minor gains.
The Nifty index managed to hold above the 25,000 mark but closed negative for the fourth consecutive session.
Analysts said that the index upswings thereof failed to gain enough momentum to push beyond the 25,278-25,330 region, reflecting sustained selling pressure and cautious market sentiment.
On the upside, immediate resistance is placed at 25,100, followed by 25,250. On the downside, support lies at 25,000 and 24,900, they said.
The reforms being implemented in India, along with the low interest rate regime, have the potential to push economic growth and corporate earnings growth higher.
This should bring FIIs back to the Indian market, but the timeline is uncertain, the analysts added.
The US markets ended in the red zone overnight, as Nasdaq dipped 0.34 per cent, the S&P 500 dropped 0.28 per cent, and the Dow lost 0.37 per cent in the last trading session.
Most of the Asian markets were trading in the green during the morning session. While China's Shanghai index edged up 0.19 per cent, and Shenzhen advanced 1.29 per cent, Japan's Nikkei inched up 0.20 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.37 per cent. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.02 per cent.
On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 2,425 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 1,211 crore.
(With inputs from IANS)
