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Indian stock markets closed in the negative territory on Thursday with the Sensex and Nifty, both ending the day lower, as concerns over currency weakness and muted earnings expectations weighed on investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex fell by 467.22 points, closing at 77,681.27, while the Nifty declined by 133.25 points, settling at 23,555.70. Among the 50 Nifty companies, 16 stocks advanced, 34 declined and one remained unchanged. Top gainers from the Nifty included Bajaj Auto, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, M&M, and Britannia. Conversely, the top losers were ONGC, Shriram Finance, BPCL, Coal India, and Tata Steel. The broader market sentiment was largely bearish, with analysts suggesting that the market may continue facing downward pressure in the short term. VLA Ambala, SEBI Registered Research Analyst and Co-Founder of Stock Market Today, pointed out that the Indian Rupee (INR) remained a key concern. Ambala noted that on January 9, the rupee hit a new low of 85.93 against the dollar, largely due to strong dollar demand, before recovering slightly to trade at 85.89. Ambala noted that the Reserve Bank of India might have intervened to stabilize the currency. "Market sentiment is expected to remain bearish until the INR shows signs of regaining its strength. The ongoing Q3 results have dampened the market expectations, with predictions of subdued top-line growth for the seventh consecutive quarter and YoY margins under pressure. On the other hand, Forex advisors have highlighted that FIIs continue their selling streak amid global risk aversion and weaker domestic data," she added. Meanwhile, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) have been absorbing some of the selling pressure, with purchases amounting to Rs. 12,614.32 crore in January, compared to FIIs' selling worth Rs. 11,931.91 crore. From a technical perspective, the Nifty is trading nearly 5% below its 20-month exponential moving average (EMA), with the potential for further decline. Ambala suggested that investors should consider accumulating value stocks during dips to outperform broader market indices. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, "With the Q3 results season starting from today there will be the market reaction to results. The results of TCS will give an indication of what is in store for the IT sector. The strength of the U.S. economy and the depreciation of rupee will be tailwinds for the IT sector." "Premium segments like hotels, jewellery, automobiles catering to the premium market and airlines are likely to report good numbers. Expectations from President Trump's policy decisions and the Indian union Budget proposals will keep the market volatile in the coming days," he added. The market opened on a subdued note, with the Sensex down by 214.33 points or 0.27% at 77,934.16, and the Nifty trading 55.25 points lower at 23,633.70. The market's cautious stance reflects investor apprehension over the slower economic growth forecasts and the anticipation of Q3 earnings reports. (ANI)
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