MUMBAI: The Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Thursday amid mixed global cues, as selling was seen in the auto, pharma and FMCG sectors in the early trade.
At around 9.37 am, Sensex was trading 219.70 points or 0.29 per cent down at 75, 719.48 while the Nifty declined 45.75 points or 0.20 per cent at 22, 887.15.
Nifty Bank was down 270.85 points or 0.55 per cent at 49, 299.25. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 50, 260.65 after declining 266.60 points or 0.53 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 15, 465.95 after dropping 59.95 points or 0.39 per cent.
After a negative opening, Nifty can find support at 22, 850 followed by 22, 800 and 22, 700. On the higher side, 23, 000 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 23, 100 and 23, 200, according to market watchers.
"Given the ongoing volatility, traders are advised to exercise caution, implement strict stop-loss strategies, and avoid carrying overnight positions, " said Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst of Choice Broking
Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, M&M, ITC, Maruti, Zomato, HDFC Bank, L&T, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors and Hindustan Unilever were the top losers. Whereas, Infosys, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Power Grid and ICICI Bank were the top gainers.
In the last trading session, Dow Jones gained 0.16 per cent to close at 44, 627.59. The S&P 500 added 0.24 per cent to 6, 144.15 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.07 per cent to close at 20, 056.25.
In the Asian markets, Seoul, China, Bangkok, Japan, Jakarta and Hong Kong were trading in red.
Gold and silver experienced mild profit-taking following hawkish comments in the Federal Reserve’s January meeting minutes, said experts.
"The US Fed noted that inflation remains high and emphasised the need for further economic data before considering rate cuts. As a result, the dollar index and US bond yields rose, pressuring gold and silver prices, " said Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities of Mehta Equities Ltd.
On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloading equities worth Rs 1, 881.30 crore on February 19. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 1, 957.74 crore on the same day.