Indian Markets Fall in Early Trade on Global Signals; Sensex Down 217 Points, Nifty Slips 0.31%

Market Update at 10:05 AM: Indian equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 were trading lower in early trade on Thursday, tracking mixed global cues and continued weakness across Asian markets.

At 09:23 IST, the BSE Sensex was quoted at 83,601, down 217 points or 0.26 per cent. The NSE Nifty 50 was trading 81 points lower, or 0.31 per cent, at 25,695.

Selling pressure was visible among select heavyweight stocks. On the Sensex, Indigo, Bharat Electronics (BEL), Eternal, Asian Paints and Axis Bank were among the top laggards, declining by up to 2 per cent. In contrast, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), State Bank of India (SBI), Infosys, NTPC and ICICI Bank were trading in the green, gaining up to 1.2 per cent.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was down 0.25 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 0.66 per cent, indicating continued pressure on mid- and small-sized stocks.

Sectoral indices traded on a mixed note. Nifty Metal emerged as the worst-performing sector, falling 1.80 per cent. Pharma, Auto, Financials and Realty indices were also trading lower, with losses extending up to 0.9 per cent.

Asian markets remained under pressure as the sell-off in technology stocks deepened amid persistent investor concerns. South Korea’s Kospi was down nearly 2 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading about 1.7 per cent lower at the last count, adding to the cautious sentiment across global equities.

Pre-Market Update at 7:51 AM: Indian stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 are expected to open flat on Thursday, tracking mixed cues from global markets and continued selling pressure in technology stocks overseas.

Gift Nifty was trading around the 25,861 level, a premium of nearly 12 points over the previous close of Nifty futures, indicating a flat start for domestic equities.

On Wednesday, Indian markets ended marginally higher despite heavy selling in IT stocks. The Sensex gained 78.56 points, or 0.09 per cent, to close at 83,817.69, while the Nifty 50 rose 48.45 points, or 0.19 per cent, to settle at 25,776.00.

Asian markets traded mixed on Thursday following overnight losses on Wall Street amid a sell-off in technology stocks. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.15 per cent, while the Topix gained 0.47 per cent to hit a record high. South Korea’s Kospi declined 2.71 per cent and the Kosdaq fell 1.79 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a weaker opening.

U.S. stock markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday as concerns over expensive valuations and the sustainability of the AI-led rally weighed on technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.53 per cent to 49,501.30, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.51 per cent to 6,882.72. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.51 per cent to close at 22,904.58.

Among individual stocks, Nvidia fell 3.41 per cent, Advanced Micro Devices plunged 17.31 per cent, Alphabet declined 2.16 per cent, Tesla dropped 3.78 per cent and Palantir slumped nearly 12 per cent. Apple gained 2.60 per cent, while Super Micro Computer surged 13.8 per cent and Eli Lilly rallied about 10 per cent.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed trade and geopolitical developments, including Taiwan, during a call on Wednesday. Trump described the conversation as “excellent” and “long and thorough,” ahead of a planned face-to-face meeting in April.

Ukraine’s top negotiator Rustem Umerov said the first day of meetings in Abu Dhabi involving Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. teams was substantive and productive. The discussions focused on concrete steps and practical solutions, according to Reuters.

U.S. private payrolls increased by 22,000 jobs in January, lower than market expectations, after a downwardly revised rise of 37,000 jobs in December. Economists had forecast private employment to increase by 48,000 jobs. The U.S. services sector remained steady, with the ISM non-manufacturing PMI unchanged at 53.8 in January, compared with expectations of a slight decline to 53.5.

Google parent Alphabet reported consolidated revenue of USD 113.83 billion for the fourth quarter ended December 2025, an increase of 18 per cent from the same period last year and above analyst estimates. Net income rose 30 per cent to USD 34.5 billion, while earnings per share climbed 31 per cent to USD 2.82. The company announced plans to raise capital expenditure sharply to USD 175 billion–185 billion in 2026, compared with USD 91.45 billion in 2025.

The U.S. dollar steadied ahead of interest rate decisions by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England. The dollar index rose 0.2 per cent to 96.671. The euro traded at USD 1.1800, the British pound at USD 1.3650 and the U.S. dollar stood at 156.92 yen against the Japanese currency.

Gold prices rebounded above USD 5,000 per ounce after recovering from losses in the previous two sessions. Spot gold rose 1.2 per cent to USD 5,022.61 an ounce, while silver climbed 2.3 per cent to USD 90.20.

Crude oil prices declined after Iran confirmed it would hold negotiations with the U.S. Brent crude fell 1.22 per cent to USD 68.61 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1.15 per cent to USD 64.39 per barrel.

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Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.