Mumbai, Jan 8 (IANS): The domestic benchmark indices opened flat on Wednesday as selling was seen in the auto, IT, PSU bank, financial service, FMCG, metal, realty and media sectors.
At around 9.28 am, Sensex was trading at 78,014.77 after dropping 184.34 points or 0.24 per cent, while Nifty was trading at 23,662.2 after declining 45.70 points or 0.19 per cent.
On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 749 stocks were trading in green, while 826 stocks were in red.
Nifty Bank was down 117.25 points or 0.23 per cent at 50,084.90. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 56,405.35 after dropping 463.95 points or 0.82 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 18,568.10 after declining 105.35 points or 0.56 per cent.
According to market experts, the trend of strong US macros weakening emerging markets is continuing. The US 10-year bond yield has spiked to 4.67 per cent on better-than-expected jobs numbers and indications of the services sector doing very well.
This means the Fed may hold rates in January leading to further strengthening of the dollar and rising bond yields.
"The fall out of this on the Indian macros is that the RBI may hold rates in February against the market expectation of a cut. In this macro setting, FIIs are likely to continue selling, putting pressure on the market," they added.
Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, Zomato, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech and HDFC Bank were the top losers. Maruti, Sun Pharma, Nestle India, L&T, PowerGrid, ITC, M&M, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top gainers.
The Dow Jones declined 0.42 per cent to close at 42,528.36. The S&P 500 declined 1.11 per cent to 5,909 and the Nasdaq declined 1.89 per cent to close at 19,489.68 in the last trading session.
In the Asian markets, Jakarta and Seoul were trading in green. While Hong Kong, China, Bangkok and Japan were trading in red.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,491.46 crore on January 7 and domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,615.28 crore on the same day.