The Indian stock market continues to trade in negative territory. Both the Sensex and Nifty are in the red, with the Sensex declining 0.43% (over 300 points) to 75,412.53, while the Nifty slipped 0.4% to 22,823.45 in intraday trade.
Among the Nifty stocks, the top gainers include Hindalco, NTPC, Eicher Motors, Shriram Finance, and Tata Steel. Meanwhile, the biggest laggards are M&M, BPCL, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement, and Wipro.
The banking sector mirrored the broader market trend, with the Nifty Bank index opening in the red. It was trading at 49,223.05, down 0.23%.
“In the context of Trump’s tariff threats the market is negatively responding to potential tariff targets like autos and pharmaceuticals and looking for opportunities in domestic consumption plays which will not be impacted by tariff threats. This is likely to be a short-term trend since Trump’s strategy is to threaten with tariffs and then negotiate for tariff reduction on US exports. It will take time for this to play out. Higher tariffs on imports into the US is not in the interest of the US since it will be inflationary, inviting hawkish comments from the Fed, which, in turn, will impact the US stock market. Trump will not like this outcome and, therefore, he is using the interim period to negotiate with trading partners,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
“The FII selling in India is likely to continue, particularly in the context of renewed interest in Chinese stocks which are cheap and are staging a smart recovery. FII selling will continue to put pressure on largecaps. This is an opportunity for long-term investors. Select midcaps like in the defence sector which have corrected and are fairly valued now are likely to witness buying since they don’t face the threat of FII selling,” he added.
Market recap
Stock markets have been facing selling pressure over the past sessions. On Thursday, February 20, the benchmark indices ended in the red. Sensex dropped 0.27% to close at 75,735.96, whereas Nifty 50 fell 0.86% to settle at 22,913.15.
Gold price today
Gold prices in India remain on the higher side, with 24 carat gold priced at Rs 8,805 per gram, while 22 carat gold rate today is available at Rs 8,071 per gram, as per Goodreturns. For 18K gold, the rate stands at Rs 6,604 per gram.
The 10 grams of 24 carat gold price is now at Rs 88,050, whereas 10 grams of 22K gold costs Rs 80,710. Meanwhile, 18K gold is priced at Rs 66,040 per 10 grams.