Markets may start today’s session on a sluggish note

19 Oct 2023 , 09:06 AM

Indian benchmark indices may ring the opening bells of today’s session with a decline. Yesterday, markets ended with sharp declines. Sensex closed 551 points lower at 65,877. Nifty 50 closed 140 points down at 19,672.

On the global front, US markets closed with substantial losses. Dow Jones closed 333 points lower. Nasdaq Composite closed 219 points lower. S&P 500 index ended down by 49 points.

Asian peers are trading under pressure as risk aversion persists in the market owing to increasing worries over Middle East tensions. Chinese Shanghai Composite is trading 0.97% lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down by 1.91%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1.74% lower. Taiwan index is trading with flat numbers. South Korean Kospi is trading 1.79% down.

Nifty Midcap 50 stocks closed 1.11% lower. Nifty Bank was down by 1.17%.

In Wednesday’s trading session, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, and SBI Life emerged as the biggest gainers. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, HDFC Bank, and Reliance closed on the flipside.

On Wednesday, the rupee fell 3 paise to 83.28 versus the US dollar, mirroring negative indications from domestic equities markets amid soaring crude oil prices outside.

Oil prices dipped on Thursday, erasing previous day gains, as OPEC showed no evidence of backing Iran’s proposal for an oil embargo against Israel.