Stock Market Today: Indian equity benchmarks opened marginally lower on Thursday, January 8, tracking cautious global cues and early profit booking at higher levels.
Stock Market Today: opening bell
At 9:15 am, the BSE Sensex slipped 103.02 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 84,858.12, compared with its previous close of 84,961.14. The index opened lower at 84,778.02.
The Nifty 50 also started on a weak note. The benchmark index was down 41.05 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 26,099.70, against a previous close of 26,140.75. It opened the session at 26,106.50.
Sensex losers outweigh gainers
TCS, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Power Grid were the top Sensex losers, declining up to 2 per cent in early trade.
On the positive side, only nine Sensex stocks were trading higher. Gains were led by ICICI Bank, BEL, Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finance, Titan, Axis Bank, and Eternal.
Broader markets under pressure
The weakness extended to the broader markets. The Nifty MidCap index slipped 0.66 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index fell 0.38 per cent.
On the NSE, barring the Nifty Smallcap index, all other key indices opened in the red. The Nifty 100 was down 0.19 per cent, and the Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.10 per cent in early trade.
Sectoral drag led by metal and IT stocks
Sectorally, selling pressure was seen across the board. The Nifty Metal index dropped 1.75 per cent, while the Nifty IT index fell 0.85 per cent. The Nifty Pharma index slipped 0.6 per cent.
In early trade, NSE sectoral indices also opened lower. Nifty Metal declined 0.67 per cent, Nifty Pharma fell 0.55 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank dropped 0.23 per cent, Nifty Auto slipped 0.47 per cent, and Nifty IT was down 0.07 per cent.
Geopolitical concerns add to volatility
Market sentiment remained cautious after comments by US Senator Lindsey Graham, who said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump has given the green light to the bipartisan Russia Sanctions Bill.
The bill aims to put pressure on countries such as India, China, and Brazil to stop purchasing Russian oil. It also seeks to penalise countries that, according to US lawmakers, are fuelling Russia’s war efforts.
As per the official website of the US Congress, the proposed legislation, titled the Sanctioning of Russia Act 2025, includes provisions to penalise individuals and entities. It also proposes increasing the duty on all goods and services imported from Russia into the US to at least 500 per cent of their value.
Commodities and Asian markets weak
Meanwhile, gold and silver prices declined after two major commodity indices were rebalanced between January 8 and January 14. Brokerages expect selling of around USD 7 billion each in gold and silver over the next five working days.
Other Asian markets also traded weak, with concerns around US policy and the so-called Trump effect continuing to weigh on global risk sentiment.