The Indian stock market opened in the red on Monday as information technology (IT) stocks saw selling pressure.
At 9.29 am, Sensex slipped 242 points or 0.30 per cent at 81,220 and Nifty declined 63 points or 0.26 per cent at 24,773.
The Nifty Bank fell 0.28 per cent to 56,384. The Nifty IT index and Nifty realty were the worst performer among sectoral peers, shedding 0.61 per cent and 2.75 per cent respectively.
Last week, on Friday, the Nifty 50 extended its decline, slipping below the immediate support level of 24,900 and settling at 24,837. The fall was largely driven by weak global signals and disappointing corporate earnings.
"For any meaningful upside to resume, the index needs to decisively close above the 25,150 mark. A breakout above this level could pave the way for higher targets at 25,500 and 25,700 in the upcoming sessions. Until then, the broader outlook remains sideways to bearish," said Mandar Bhojane from Choice Equity Broking Private Limited.
Nifty midcap 100 index up 0.26 per cent and Nifty midcap 100 stayed unchanged.
One 97 Paytm, Cyient, RBL Bank, and Indraprastha Gas (IGL) were among the gainers, while Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) plunged 6.84 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank dropped 6.18 per cent. Lodha Developers, SBI Cards, and Central Depository Services (CDSL) were other losers in the early session.
"The sharp cut in the IT index has been dragging the market down, and there is no respite in view of the 2 per cent cut in its global workforce announced by TCS. However, midcap IT names hold promise in view of their strong growth prospects," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited said.
"Investors have to be cautious and stock-specific in this weak phase of the market. There is safety in banks like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank which have come out with the best results in the segment with prospects of improvement going forward," he added.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.74 per cent and South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.11 per cent. Shanghai and Hong Kong were in the green zone.
Overnight, US markets concluded on a positive note. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.24 per cent, Dow Jones rose 0.47 per cent and S&P 500 gained 0.40 per cent.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers each day during the last week. To date, in July, they have sold equities worth Rs 30,508 crore. Domestic institutional investors remained strong buyers, buying Rs 39,825 crore worth of shares.
(With inputs from IANS)
