Market Opening Bell: Indian benchmark indices opened in the red on Monday, February 17, 2025, amid mixed global cues. The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 522.15 points or 0.69 per cent at 75,417.05 and the NSE Nifty fell 186.50 points or 0.18 per cent at 22,742.80 in the opening trade.
Among the major gainers in the early trade were Sun Pharma, HUL, Cipla. On the other hand, M&M, Bharat Electronics, Tata Steel, Shriram Finance and ONGC were the biggest laggards.
According to NSE data, around 731 shares advanced, 1709 shares declined and 152 shares unchanged.
Earlier, Gift Nifty, an early indicator for equity market indices, hinted at a muted start for the Nifty 50 index. At 8:15 AM, Gift Nifty was seen trading in the green at 22976.
Global Cues
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.39 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 2.47 per cent.
Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher, with South Korea’s Kospi rising 0.18 per cent. While Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened flat, the Topix inched up 0.15 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures stood at 22,521, while Australia’s S&P/ASX slipped 0.64 per cent.
How did individual sectors perform?
Almost all the major Nifty sectoral indices were in red. The Nifty Auto Index was down by 1.53 per cent and reached 21,730.65 followed by Nifty Metal Index was down by 0.90 per cent, at 8,155.40. The Nifty IT Index, which declined 1.41 per cent, reached 40,968.80.
Stock Markets on Friday
Earlier on Friday, Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty extended their downward trend to eighth day in a row on Friday as investors’ sentiments were plagued due to persistent foreign fund outflows.
Markets began the trade on an optimistic note but soon gave up initial gains and fell in the negative territory.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 199.76 points or 0.26 per cent to settle at 75,939.21. During the day, it tanked 699.33 points or 0.91 per cent to 75,439.64.
The NSE Nifty declined 102.15 points or 0.44 per cent to 22,929.25.
With PTI inputs