Benchmark market indices fell sharply in early trade on Thursday, dragged down by information technology (IT) stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex was down 266.66 points to 70,793.65 at around 9:36 am, while the NSE Nifty50 declined 54.75 points to 21,399.20. The broader market indices were mixed as volatility witnessed a sharp spike during early trade.
All the major sectoral indices, including Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty IT fell in early trade, leading to losses on Dalal Street. On the other hand, Nifty Realty jumped over 1.4 per cent.
The top gainers on the Nifty50 were Coal India, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Britannia and BPCL. On the other hand, the top losers were Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, HCLTech, SBI Life and HDFC Bank.
Tech Mahindra shares fell after the company reported its Q3FY24 results on Wednesday. In the third quarter, the company’s net profit dropped almost 61 per cent, marking a sharp decline.
Meanwhile, shares of HDFC Bank continued to fall along with Axis Bank, following concerns over margins of lenders in Q3FY24.
Deven Mehata, research analyst at Choice Broking anticipated the markets to open lower on Thursday, citing trends in GIFT Nifty. “Nifty can find support at 21,350 followed by 21,300 and 21,250. On the higher side, 21,550 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 21,650 and 21,700,” he said.
“Short-term traders can maintain their long positions and purchase on dips with a strict stop loss of 21150, which is also near to yesterday’s lows. On the higher side, traders should book gains at the 21650-21700 barrier levels,” he added.