Sensex, Nifty trade lower weighed down by IT stocks

Mumbai, Jan 29 The Indian equity markets traded lower early on Thursday, tracking mixed global cues and weakness in IT stocks. As of 9.30 am, Sensex eased 347 points, or 0.42 per cent, to reach 81,997, and Nifty lost 81 points, or 0.32 per cent at 25,260. The rupee declined past the key 92 a dollar barrier in early trade, eclipsing its previous all-time low of 91.9650 last week. Main broad-cap indices showed divergence with benchmark indices, as the Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.21 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 surged 0.47 per cent. All sectoral indices were trading in the red except metal, PSU bank, realty as well as oil and gas. Nifty metal and PSU bank were notable gainers up 1.76 per cent and 0.70 per cent. Nifty oil and gas gained 0.78 per cent. Nifty IT was the major loser, down 1.29 per cent. Immediate support lies at 25,200 zone, while resistance is anchored at 25,400–25,500 zone, market watchers said. Analysts dubbed Nifty’s surge of 300 points during the last two trading days as "a temporary response in anticipation of the Union Budget". Since the bears won’t risk going into the Budget with huge open short positions, they have covered some shorts and this has contributed to the rally, they added. FIIs short to medium-term strategy of ‘sell India’ and shift capital to other markets will remain unchanged unless there are notable announcements in the Budget, nudging them to return to India, they said. Asia-Pacific markets mostly traded lower in the morning session after the US Federal Reserve overnight kept its benchmark rate steady at a target range of 3.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent. In Asian markets, China's Shanghai index eased 0.1 per cent, and Shenzhen added 0.01 per cent, Japan's Nikkei traded flat, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.34 per cent. South Korea's Kospi added 0.94 per cent. The US markets ended largely in the green overnight as Nasdaq advanced 0.17 per cent. The S&P 500 eased 0.01 per cent, and the Dow gained 0.02 per cent. On January 27, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) became net buyers for the first time in 2026, and net bought equities worth Rs 480 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 3,360 crore. Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor Open in app