The Indian benchmark indices faced a decline on Monday due to escalating geopolitical tensions and uncertainties surrounding the India-US trade deal. As of 9.22 am, Sensex dropped by 95 points, or 0.44 per cent to 83,212, while Nifty decreased by 95 points, or 0.37 per cent to 25,588.
Major broad-cap indices mirrored the benchmark indices’ trend, with the Nifty Midcap 100 falling by 0.33 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 by 0.57 per cent. Apart from metal and FMCG sectors, all other sectoral indices were in the negative territory, with pharma, realty, and media experiencing declines of over 1.4 per cent.
Market analysts highlighted that immediate Nifty support is positioned at the 25,500–25,600 zone, emphasizing the need for a sustained breakout above 25,800–25,850 to stabilize the near-term momentum. They also noted that the US administration’s unusual remarks were complicating the US-India trade deal, while global crises and uncertainties were impacting stock markets, leading to increased volatility.
Investors are closely monitoring the expected ruling on Trump tariffs from the US Supreme Court, which did not materialize last week. Analysts pointed out that the market trend in the near future will be influenced by the Q3 results and management commentary from tech majors and large caps in the banking sector.
In the Asian markets, trading was positive during the morning session, following Wall Street gains from the previous week after a US job report indicated a decrease in the unemployment rate, showcasing resilience in the labor market. Notably, China’s Shanghai index rose by 0.75 per cent, Shenzhen by 1.31 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei by 1.61 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index by 0.74 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi by 1.08 per cent.
The US markets showed mixed performance in the last trading session, with Nasdaq increasing by 0.82 per cent, S&P 500 by 0.65 per cent, and Dow by 0.48 per cent. On January 9, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold net equities worth Rs 8,808 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 15,700 crore.
