Stock Market Today: Sensex Slides Over 500 Points In Early Trade, Nifty Below 16,500

The Indian equity benchmarks opened lower on Tuesday as indicated by the SGX index. At 9:19 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 531 points or 0.95 per cent lower at 55,143, whereas the Nifty 50 index was trading 153 points or 0.93 per cent lower at 16,415. 

The Nifty Midcap 50 index dipped 0.89 per cent at 7,607, whereas the Nifty Midcap 100 index slipped 0.92 per cent at 27,735. All the sectoral indices were trading in red between 0.24 per cent and 2.29 per cent led by the stocks of consumer durables, real state, financial services, and auto. 

Amongst the Nifty 50 companies, ONGC, Coal India Limited, Hindalco, Reliance Industries, and Axis Bank were the top gainers, whereas Titan, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Asian Paint, Apollo Hospital, and Maruti were the top losers. Amongst the BSE-listed companies, only Reliance Industries was the top gainer, whereas Titan, Asian Paint, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, Kotak Bank, and Dr. Reddy were the top losers. 

Meanwhile, in Asia, the major indices were trading on a mixed note. While the Hang Seng index fell 0.48 per cent, South Korea’s KOSPI was down 1.38 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading 0.40 per cent higher. China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.27 per cent, whereas Shenzhen Component was trading 0.48 per cent higher. 

The major indices in the US were trading higher on Monday at the back of China relaxing some tough Covid-19 measures, even as inflation and interest rate hikes continue to worry investors. The S&P surged 12.89 points or 0.3 per cent to 4,121, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 16.08 points to 32,915. The Nasdaq Composite surged 48.64 points or 0.4 per cent to 12,061. 

Back home, the foreign institutional investors (FII) continued to remain the net sellers' worth Rs 2,397 crore whereas the domestic institutional investors remained the net buyers' worth Rs 1,940 crore on Tuesday. Rupee inched 2 paise lower to close at 77.64 against the US Dollar on Monday.

Meanwhile, the crude oil prices were trading higher on Tuesday amidst the relaxation of Covid-19 curbs in China. The Brent crude futures surged 19 cents 0r 0.2 per cent at $119.70 per barrel at 0050 GMT. 

Vedanta, V-Guard Industries, Adani Transmission, NMDC, Tata Power, SBI Cards, Angel One, and Canara Bank are the stocks that will remain in focus on Tuesday.

The Reserve Bank Of India’s Monetary Policy Committee began its three-day scheduled meet on June 6. It is expected that the RBI MPC will hike the key interest rate by 25 to 40 basis points in order to tame inflation.