Indian stock markets continued their losing streak for the fourth consecutive session on Monday, February 10, as concerns over global trade weighed on investor sentiment. The BSE Sensex closed at 77,311.80, slipping 548.39 points or 0.70%, while the Nifty 50 tumbled 178.35 points or 0.76 to settle at 23,381.60.
The sharp decline came in the wake of escalating trade tensions, with US President Donald Trump announcing fresh tariffs set to take effect early this week.
“The US tariff threats continued to impact the market sentiment. Domestic yield is inching higher as investors stay cautious on riskier assets and navigate their investments to safe haven assets like gold. On the earnings front, the companies are facing downgrades in estimates due to a weak demand environment, margin pressure, and a cautious near-term outlook,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
From the Sensex pack, the major gainers in the today’s trading session were Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra. The top 5 laggards include PowerGrid, Tata Steel, Zomato, Titan, and Bajaj Finance.
Among the Nifty 50, the top 5 gainers were Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, Britannia, Tata Consumer and HCL Tech. On the flip side, the losers were Trent, PowerGrid, Tata Steel, Titan, and ONGC.
FII selling continues
Meanwhile the FII selling continues in the Indian market. Foreign investors have sold equities worth Rs 2464 crore while DIIs continue to buy, another tranche of equities worth Rs 1516 crore were bought in trade today. This brings the total FII selling in February to Rs 12000 crore plus. This is after outflows of Rs 87,374.66 crore in January, 2025.
Gold prices today
Gold prices soared to new highs, driven by global economic concerns. Gold rate today for 24 carat gold price reached Rs 8,537 per gram, while 22 carat gold rate today stood at Rs 8,332 per gram, according to the India Bullion and Jewellers Association.
On the MCX, gold price today for April futures hit Rs 85,384 per 10 grams before settling at Rs 85,325. Internationally, spot gold surged to a record $2,886.62 per ounce last week.
The surge in the cost of gold today is linked to heightened economic uncertainty following US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff policies.
Sectoral indices
On the sectoral front, Nifty Bank ended the day at 49,981, down by 177.85 points or 0.35%. Nifty midcap 100 closed at 52,471.05, shedding 1,138.10 points or 2.12% while Nifty small cap 50 settled at 8,027.20, down 187 points or 2.28%.
“The benchmark indices continued to experience profit booking at higher levels, with the Nifty ends 178 points lower, while the Sensex was down by 548 points. Among sectors, all the major sectoral indices traded in the red, but the Realty index lost the most, shedding over 3 percent,” Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.
“Technically, after a muted opening, the market slipped below 23,500/77600, and following this breakdown, selling pressure intensified. Additionally, a bearish candle was formed on the daily charts, indicating further weakness from the current levels. We believe that the current market texture is weak, but a fresh sell-off is only possible if the 20-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) or 23,300/77000 is dismissed. Below this level, it could retest the range of 23,220-23,175/76700-76500. On the other hand, 23,500/77600 would be the key resistance zone for the bulls. Above this level, the pullback could extend up to 23,560/77800,” he added.