The equity market was tumultuous this morning, with key indexes like the Sensex and Nifty falling amid a mixed trend in Asia and worries over the inflation outlook.
The 30-share Sensex lost 53.63 points, or 0.09 percent, to 58,937.89 points in early trading as the market bounced between positive and negative territory.
The Nifty 50 index fell 9.60 points, or 0.06 percent, to 17,350.15 points.
Maruti Suzuki was the highest gainer among Sensex companies, up 2.50 percent. Other notable winners were NTPC, M&M, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finserv, and Titan.
Meanwhile, laggards included Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, and TCS.
The major indexes Sensex and Nifty finished the final day of the fiscal year 2022–23 with a roughly 2% increase on Friday.
The 30-stock BSE Sensex rose 1,031.43 points, or 1.78 percent, to 58,991.52. The NSE Nifty gained 279.05 points, or 1.63 percent, to close at 17,359.75.
Traders claimed that during the first trading day of the fiscal year 2023–24, investors were concerned about different macroeconomic indicators and the jump in oil prices against the background of rising inflationary tendencies.
They would also be waiting for the RBI Monetary Policy Committee’s interest rate announcement later this week, they said.
Asian markets showed mixed results on Monday, while European and US markets finished higher on Friday. The Sensex and Nifty also finished the day with significant gains.
Sunday, oil prices went up because Saudi Arabia led OPEC to cut back on oil production.
The group’s plan to cut production by more than 1 million barrels per day comes as a surprise to markets expecting a near-term peak in inflationary pressure.
It also restricts central banks’ ability to ease monetary policy even if the economy slows, according to Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.
According to V. K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, there are additional headwinds for markets at this point, including the increase in the price of Brent petroleum. This would make it difficult for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to regulate inflation, he noted.
Brent crude futures rose 5.50 percent to $84.99 a barrel, the global oil benchmark.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net purchasers on Friday, purchasing shares worth Rs 357.86 crore.
