Nifty, Sensex decline by around 0.9% in opening trade, experts believe pessimism to ease post Jan 15

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 13 (ANI): Indian stock markets continued their downward trend on Monday, with bears dominating the opening session.

The Nifty 50 index opened under pressure, declining by over 1 per cent or 236.10 points to start at 23,195.40. Similarly, the BSE Sensex witnessed a drop of 749.01 points or 0.97 per cent, opening at 76,629.90.

Market experts attribute the slump to a strong US Dollar and rising global bond yields, which are weighing on global equities. Adding to the uncertainty is the possibility of new policies under Trump 2.0, creating a "sell now, think later" sentiment in the market. Experts hope this pessimism will ease as strong US corporate earnings are expected from January 15.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert told ANI "The FPI short positions are nearing the level at which Indian markets have bottomed in the past. It is just one number, so we can't be sure of it holding good. Monday markets are looking challenging after the US markets fall on Friday. A huge amount of pessimism has been baked into global and Indian markets".

He further added "However, for now the focus is on the rising global yields and the Trump policies which will impact inflation and debt levels. We stay optimistic that markets will absorb the changed data and will progress further".

In sectoral performance on the NSE, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Consumer Durables dropped more than 1 per cent in early trading, while other indices also opened in the red. Nifty IT declined by 0.5 per cent, and Nifty Bank and Auto were down by 0.9 per cent.

Concerns about rising global inflation, debt levels, and higher oil prices--due to new sanctions on Russian entities imposed by the outgoing Biden administration--have created a challenging environment for stock markets globally and in India.

The focus now shifts to whether robust US corporate earnings can overcome the current negative sentiment or if a prolonged downturn is in store.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, 49 opened with losses. IndusInd Bank was the only stock to open in the green. Top losers included BPCL, BEL, Power Grid, NTPC, and Trent.

Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research, Axis Securities "The area between 23177 and 23355 will continue to matter on the way down, while immediate resistance stands at 23600. Interestingly, even though the percentage of stocks in the Nifty above the 200-day average has fallen to 34, the 14-day momentum isn't oversold yet, which could mean more weakness could be ahead of us. For the day, let's watch 23238 on the downside which is critical"

The other Asian markets also mirrored the negative trend. Taiwan Weighted fell over 2 per cent, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 1.18 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined by 1.32 per cent. Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday. At the time of reporting, most Asian markets remained under pressure. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)