The Indian stock market showed a flat trend with a slight negative bias due to losses in IT stocks and tensions between the US and Venezuela. Despite some Indian companies reporting better quarterly earnings, concerns lingered regarding the impact of potential US military actions in Venezuela. Sensex was down 62 points, or 0.07%, at 85,699, while Nifty rose 9 points, or 0.03%, to 26,319 by 9:30 am.
Main broad-cap indices mirrored the benchmark indices, with Nifty Midcap 100 unchanged and Nifty Smallcap 100 up by 0.36%. Notable gainers on the Nifty included ONGC and SBI, while Nifty IT suffered a significant loss of 1.41%. Nifty media, metal, and PSU sectors, on the other hand, saw gains of 0.84%, 0.70%, and 0.79%, respectively.
Market analysts highlighted that geopolitical events at the beginning of 2026 could have significant repercussions on the market. They pointed out that the US involvement in Venezuela might disrupt global geopolitics, the Russia-Ukraine conflict could persist, Iranian protests might escalate, and China could take advantage of the situation to assert control over Taiwan.
The ongoing crisis in Venezuela could have a positive impact on India by potentially leading to a medium to long-term decrease in crude prices. Despite these uncertainties, the market is expected to remain resilient in the short term, supported by its record high and bullish momentum. Analysts also noted the strength of the Bank Nifty due to robust credit growth and anticipated impressive Q3 banking and financial results.
In the Asian markets, China’s Shanghai index and Shenzhen gained 1.07% and 1.87%, respectively, while Japan’s Nikkei rose by 2.557%. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped by 0.12%, and South Korea’s Kospi advanced by 2.87%. In the US markets, the Nasdaq experienced a slight decline of 0.03%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow posted gains of 0.19% and 0.66%, respectively.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 290 crore on January 2, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities amounting to Rs 677 crore.
