The S&P BSE Sensex fell 1.31 per cent to 72,163.82 at 9:16 am, while the NSE Nifty50 lost 1.32 per cent to trade at 21,738.55 points. This is the second day in a row when the benchmark indices have struggled for momentum.
Even the broader market indices came under pressure in early trade due to the overall sentiments on Dalal Street; volatility also rose sharply during the trading session.
Nifty Bank fell over 2.37 per cent and Nifty Financial Services fell 2.49 per cent, while Nifty Auto, Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty were down over 1 per cent. The weakness in banking and financial shares comes a day after HDFC Bank, the country's largest private lender, reported its Q3FY24 results.
The top five gainers on the Nifty50 were TCS, L&T, HCLTech, Coal India and Apollo Hospitals. On the other hand, the biggest drags on the 50-share index were HDFC Bank, Bajaj-Auto, Hindalco, Tata Steel and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Ahead of today's market opening, Deven Mehata, research analyst at Choice Broking, said, "The benchmark Indian indices are likely to open lower on January 17 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a negative start for the broader index."
"After a gap down opening Nifty can find support at 21,800 followed by 21,750 and 21,700. On the higher side, 22,000 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 22,100 and 22,200," he added.
