The Indian equity markets started Thursday on a lower note, with IT stocks exerting pressure. By 9:25 am, Sensex was down 397 points, or 0.47%, reaching 83,836, while Nifty dropped 111 points, or 0.43%, settling at 25,842. Notably, the Nifty Midcap 100 fell by 0.76%, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 saw a decline of 0.88%.
All sectoral indices, except FMCG, private banks, and oil and gas, were in the negative territory. Notable losers included Nifty IT down by 3.58%, realty down by 1.11%, and media down by 1.04%. Market analysts pointed out that the immediate support for Nifty is positioned within the 25,800-25,850 zone, with resistance at 26,050-26,100.
According to market experts, recent US job data showing an addition of 1.3 lakh jobs last month and a decrease in unemployment to 4.3% have dampened expectations of immediate rate cuts by the Fed. In the Indian context, analysts noted that the rate-cutting phase seems to have concluded, given the positive growth outlook and the expected return of inflation to the RBI’s long-term target by the end of FY27.
In Asian markets, China’s Shanghai index rose by 0.12%, Shenzhen gained 0.81%, Japan’s Nikkei increased by 0.1%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined by 0.97%. South Korea’s Kospi recorded a gain of 2.74%. The US markets closed mostly in the negative zone, with Nasdaq down by 0.16%, S&P 500 trading flat, and Dow Jones losing 0.13%.
On February 11, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought equities worth Rs 944 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of equities worth Rs 125 crore. Despite the correction in Indian equities in January amid global volatility and FII outflows, analysts maintain a constructive medium-term outlook.
