Stock market opening bell: Sensex, Nifty slip into red after Muhurat Trading

Stock market started Monday's session on a cautious note, with the Sensex and Nifty slipping into the red in early trade after opening higher following the Muhurat Trading session. The initial weakness came despite positive sentiment from last week's strong rally, with investors assessing global cues and the sustainability of foreign fund inflows.At around 9:27 am, the Sensex was trading at 80,899.94, down 99.46 points or 0.12% from its previous close of 80,999.40. The index had opened at 81,327.29 and touched an early high of 81,339.41 before slipping to a low of 80,714.05.The Nifty 50 was down 17.10 points or 0.07% at 24,969.30. It opened at 25,076.40, touched a high of 25,084.05 and fell to an early low of 24,897.85.MOST SENSEX STOCKS TRADE IN THE REDThe early market weakness was visible across several heavyweight stocks, with selling pressure in technology, automobile and consumer-facing shares. HCL Technologies was the biggest Sensex loser, falling 1.44%, followed by Power Grid, which declined 1.34%. Bharti Airtel slipped 1.16%, Bajaj Finance fell 1.11% and Tata Steel lost 1.03%.Infosys declined 0.99%, while UltraTech Cement fell 0.93%. ITC was down 0.83%, Asian Paints slipped 0.81% and TCS declined 0.77%. Maruti Suzuki fell 0.72%, while Adani Ports lost 0.64%. Reliance Industries, Titan, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever, Bharat Electronics, Trent, NTPC, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were also trading lower.However, some banking and defensive stocks offered support. State Bank of India was the top Sensex gainer, rising 1.39%. HDFC Bank gained 1.17%, while ICICI Bank advanced 1.07%. Sun Pharma rose 0.69%, IndiGo gained 0.55% and Larsen & Toubro was up 0.20%.The broader market indices were largely subdued in early trade. The Nifty 100 was flat, while the Nifty 200 slipped 0.04% and the Nifty 500 declined 0.07%.The Nifty Midcap 50 was down 0.14%, while the Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.17%. The Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 0.05%.India VIX, the market's volatility gauge, fell 2.25% to 18.02.BANKING AND PHARMA OFFER SUPPORTSectoral indices showed a mixed trend, with banking and healthcare stocks providing some support while technology, auto and realty shares remained under pressure.The Nifty Pharma index was among the top performers, rising 1.51%. The Nifty Healthcare index gained 1.24%, while the Nifty PSU Bank index advanced 1%. The Nifty Financial Services 25/50 index rose 0.40% and the Nifty Private Bank index gained 0.28%.The Nifty Media index was up 0.65%, while the Nifty IT index declined 0.80%. The Nifty Realty index fell 0.60%, followed by the Nifty FMCG index, which slipped 0.43%. The Nifty Metal index declined 0.41%, while the Nifty Auto index fell 0.35%.The Nifty Consumer Durables index was down 0.26%, while the Nifty Financial Services ex-Bank index slipped 0.25%. The Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom index declined 0.87%, and the Nifty MidSmall Financial Services index fell 0.16%. The Nifty MidSmall Healthcare index gained 1.19%, while the Nifty Chemicals index slipped 0.17%.WHAT IS DRIVING MARKET SENTIMENT?Last week's strong rally has improved sentiment towards Indian equities. The Nifty had gained 8.6% during the week, helped by renewed foreign investor buying, relatively attractive valuations, easing crude oil prices, lower US bond yields and improving corporate earnings.However, investors are also keeping an eye on global developments, particularly the sharp correction in technology stocks and concerns around the pace of artificial intelligence investment.Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said the market rally had been supported by a rare convergence of positive developments for India.He pointed to foreign institutional investors turning aggressive buyers, fair valuations, a winding down of the AI trade, lower crude prices, declining US bond yields and improving corporate earnings reflected in second-quarter results."When the situation turns favourable, the market needs only a trigger to rally," Vijayakumar said, adding that the Democrats' victory in the US elections had provided that trigger by raising concerns over a possible slowdown in AI spending and triggering a sharp correction in AI stocks.He expects FII buying in India to sustain, potentially supporting further gains in large-cap stocks. However, he noted that foreign investor allocations tend to track index weights during major market shifts.Crude oil prices were mixed in early trade. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $91.11 per barrel, up $0.28 or 0.31%. Brent crude futures were down $0.19, or 0.19%, at $98.13 per barrel.Investors will continue to track crude prices, foreign fund flows, the rupee and global market movements for cues through the session.(Disclaimer: The views, opinions, recommendations, and suggestions expressed by experts/brokerages in this article are their own and do not reflect the views of the India Today Group. It is advisable to consult a qualified broker or financial advisor before making any actual investment or trading choices.)- Ends