The BSE Sensex was trading 500 points, or 0.60%, lower at 75,837.10. The Nifty50 was down 133.45 points, or 0.58%, trading at 22,938.35 around 9:36 am.
From the Sensex pack, ITC, M&M, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, and Zomato were the top losers, declining 1.5% to 2.3%. Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, and Titan also opened in the red. Meanwhile, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, and HCL Tech saw gains at the open.
On the sectoral front, Nifty Bank, Auto, FMCG, Pharma, Realty, Consumer Durables, and Oil & Gas indices declined up to 1.4%.
In the broader market, the Nifty Smallcap100 index fell 1.6%, while the Nifty Midcap100 declined 1.3%. Small and midcap stocks are inching towards bear market territory, down nearly 20% from their all-time highs.
Among individual stocks, Berger Paints jumped 3.5% after third-quarter profit fall less than anticipated as strength in industrial business helped cushion demand weakness.Bayer CropScience shares fell nearly 8% in early trade after the company posted a drop in December quarter profit, hurt by weak demand and rising costs.Investors now await India’s inflation data, due after market close. Consumer inflation likely fell sharply to a five-month low of 4.6% in January on slowing food price rises, according to economists polled by Reuters.
Easing inflation could allow the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to shift focus to slowing economic growth, which has impacted corporate earnings and consumer spending, adding pressure on markets.
Experts Take
“Trump’s tariff tantrums have been impacting the markets for the last several days. Trump moving away from targeting specific countries like Mexico, Canada and to a lesser extent China, and moving to import tariffs on steel and aluminium on all countries, has aggravated the concerns. The European Union’s declaration that they will retaliate with counter tariffs has raised the probability of a full blown trade war. How this will pan out remains to be seen,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
“It is important to understand that President Trump, however powerful he might be, cannot manipulate the laws of economics. When higher tariffs raise the inflation in the US and the Fed responds hawkishly, the US stock market will crash. This will restrain Trump. But it will take some time. Meanwhile, the drama and the volatility in the market will continue,” Vijayakumar added.
Global Markets
Other Asian markets opened higher, while Wall Street equities logged modest gains overnight as investors took stock of mounting global trade worries and comments from the Federal Reserve Chair, indicating a patient path for rate cuts.
FII/DII Tracker
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling equities on February 11, offloading equities worth Rs 4,486 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided support by purchasing equities worth Rs 4,001 crore on the same day.
More to come…
