Indian benchmark indices experienced slight losses on Tuesday, primarily due to a drop in oil and gas stocks. Despite positive corporate updates raising hopes for robust quarterly earnings, concerns over potential additional tariffs from the US impacted the domestic markets. The Sensex fell by 246 points, or 0.29%, to 85,193, while the Nifty decreased by 70 points, or 0.27%, to 26,180 as of 9:30 am.
Main broad-cap indices closely mirrored the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 declining by 0.08% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 by 0.02%. Market analysts indicated that immediate support levels are situated in the 26,100–26,150 zone, with resistance levels at 26,400–26,450.
The US markets exhibited a rally despite the Venezuela crisis. With a drop in crude prices due to increased supply from Venezuela, market analysts believe that the crisis could have positive medium to long-term effects. However, they cautioned that geopolitical uncertainties persist, advising investors to consider boosting their cash reserves.
The banking sector witnessed a boost from rising credit growth, although challenges remain in deposit mobilization. Asian defense stocks surged for a second consecutive session, amidst mixed trading in the region as investors evaluated geopolitical risks following the US’s actions in Venezuela.
In Asian markets, China’s Shanghai index rose by 1.14%, Shenzhen by 0.79%, Japan’s Nikkei by 0.69%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index by 1.68%. However, South Korea’s Kospi saw a decline of 3.99%. In the US markets, Nasdaq increased by 0.69%, S&P 500 by 0.64%, and Dow by 1.23% on the last trading day.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold net equities worth Rs 36 crore on January 5, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,764 crore.
