Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Feb 12: Indian equity benchmarks opened sharply lower on Thursday, February 12, ahead of the weekly expiry of SENSEX futures and options contracts, weighed down by heavy selling in information technology shares.
The BSE Sensex fell as much as 395 points in early trade, while the NSE Nifty50 touched an intraday low of 25,836 amid losses in index heavyweights such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Eternal.
At 9.29 am, the Sensex was down 391 points at 83,843, while the Nifty50 slipped 128 points to 25,828.
IT counters bore the brunt of the sell-off, with the Nifty IT index tumbling as much as 4.5%. The index has declined over 10.5% year-to-date and more than 10% in the past 30 days.
The weakness followed a global sell-off in technology and software stocks amid fresh concerns over potential disruption from emerging AI start-ups on established firms.
Infosys emerged as the top loser on the Nifty50, plunging nearly 5% to Rs 1,399. Tech Mahindra, TCS, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Eternal, HDFC Life and Apollo Hospitals declined between 1% and 4.5%.
Other sectoral indices such as Nifty Media, Pharma, PSU Bank, Realty, Consumer Durables, Oil & Gas and Auto fell between 0.2% and 1.2%.
On the positive side, select banking, financial services and FMCG stocks witnessed buying interest. ICICI Bank, Eicher Motors, Bharat Electronics, State Bank of India, ONGC, NTPC and Bajaj Finance were among the top gainers on the Nifty50.
Broader markets underperformed benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index falling 0.77% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 declining 0.85%. Market breadth remained weak, with 1,903 stocks declining against 767 advancing on the NSE.
Asian markets presented a mixed picture. Japan’s Nikkei edged up 0.03%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.05% and South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.95%.
Overnight, US markets ended on a mixed note after data showed the American economy added 1.30 lakh jobs in January. While stronger-than-expected non-farm payrolls initially boosted sentiment, gains fizzled out. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed 0.1% lower, whereas the Nasdaq gained 0.3%.
Investors are now awaiting key US inflation data due on Friday, which could provide further clarity on the trajectory of interest rates.
Back home, traders are likely to remain cautious amid expiry-related volatility and global cues.