CHENNAI: As expected, Indian equity markets opened sharply lower on Thursday, mirroring weakness across Asian peers, as cautious sentiment weighed on investor confidence. The selloff was broad-based, led by declines in auto and consumer goods stocks.
As of 10:50 AM, the BSE Sensex plunged 689.4 points or 0.85% to 80,905.12, while the Nifty 50 declined 207.2 points or 0.84% to 24,606.2.
Top laggards that pulled the Sensex down in the morning trade included Power Grid, M&M, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, and HCL Technologies led the losses on the BSE.
However there were a few gainers as well. Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel bucked the trend, posting modest gains.
While, on the broader market move, BSE Midcap was down 0.16%, and BSE Smallcap rose 0.23%.
But sectoral indices remained under pressure as Nifty FMCG & Consumer Durables fell over 1%, and Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma were down 0.87% and 0.9% respectively.
IPOs
Belrise Industries IPO entered Day 2 of its subscription window, while Borana Weaves moves into Day 3 of its subscription period.
Earnings today
While the investors' caution on ITC Q4 results has already reflected in the stock, which fell 2% today, other upcoming earnings from Sun Pharmaceutical, Grasim Industries, GMR Airports, Container Corporation of India, Metro Brands, and The Ramco Cements are also closely watched.