Mumbai, Nov 11: The Indian benchmark indices opened mildly in red on Tuesday, amid progress on the US shutdown bill and optimism regarding an India-US trade deal soon.

As of 9.25 am, the Sensex was down 177 points, or 0.21 per cent at 85,338 and the Nifty inched down 51 points, or 0.20 per cent to 25,523.

The broadcap indices performed better than benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 down only 0.09 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 losing 0.06 per cent.

TCS, Tech Mahindra and Dr Reddy’s Labs were among the major gainers in the Nifty Pack, while losers included Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Shriram Finance and Asian Paints.

Sectoral indices were trading mixed with most of them trading with mild negative bias. Nifty IT was the standout gainer up 0.31 per cent, while financial services, FMCG, Pharma and PSU Bank down 0.71 per cent, 0.49 per cent, 0.16 per cent and 0.57 per cent respectively.

“Nasdaq bounced back 2.2 per cent after the AI trade was weak last week. The return from AI stocks may take longer than expected, but there is no bubble in AI stocks, unlike the Tech bubble that crashed in 2000,” said market watchers.

They noted that Nasdaq PE was above 70 and many tech stocks were above 150 in March 2000, and AI stock PE valuations now range from 28 to 51, while Nasdaq’s PE is 32.

Most of the Asia-Pacific markets rose in early trading sessions on Tuesday tracking Wall Street gains on revived optimism regarding artificial intelligence stocks.

The US markets ended in the green zone overnight, as Nasdaq jumped 2.27 per cent, the S&P 500 added 1.54 per cent, and the Dow inched up 0.81 per cent.

In Asian markets, China’s Shanghai index lost 0.46 per cent, and Shenzhen dipped 0.67 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei added 0.43 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased 0.29 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.38 per cent.

On Monday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 4,889 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 1,787 crore.

Dhanbad, Nov 10: Traders on Monday launched a massive protest after a businessman was robbed and shot at inside the government-run Market Committee complex in the Barwadda police station area in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, late Sunday evening.

The incident has caused concerns over rising crime in Jharkhand’s coal capital, prompting traders to shut all 417 shops in the market complex for the day.

The attack took place around 8.30 p.m. on Sunday when three bike-borne assailants intercepted trader Shyam Bhimsariya while he was closing his shop.

The miscreants fired at him, snatched a bag containing Rs 4 lakh, and sped off. Bhimsariya narrowly escaped the bullet, which reportedly grazed past him. The incident created panic among shopkeepers and customers, many of whom rushed to safety.

On Monday morning, hundreds of traders assembled at the main gate of the Market Committee complex, raising slogans against the administration and demanding immediate arrests. They alleged that the market, which witnesses a heavy footfall, has long been operating without proper security measures.

The Market Committee complex is one of the busiest business hubs in Dhanbad, recording a daily turnover of Rs 7-8 crore.

“We will not tolerate this kind of atmosphere where traders fear for their lives every evening,” a member of the traders’ association said, adding that if the culprits are not arrested within 48 hours, the protest may spread to other markets across the district.

BJP MP Dhullu Mahto, addressing traders, said criminals are “roaming fearlessly” in Dhanbad. “The morale of criminals has gone up due to weak policing. The police must act immediately to restore confidence among traders,” he said.

Jharia Congress MLA Ragini Singh accused the state government of complete failure on the law and order front. “When crime is discussed in the Assembly, the government remains silent. People are living in fear while criminals are dictating terms,” she remarked.

Outgoing Mayor Chandrashekhar Agarwal demanded urgent security measures in the market area, suggesting that CCTV cameras be installed. He said a permanent police post must be established to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

Dhanbad District Chamber of Commerce president Chetan Goenka strongly condemned the attack and criticised authorities for ignoring repeated requests for better security.

“It is shocking that a market with a daily business of Rs 7-8 crore has neither CCTV surveillance nor police patrolling. Traders cannot operate under fear. The administration must take permanent measures,” Goenka said.

Mumbai, Nov 10: Indian benchmark indices opened the week in the green zone on Monday, amid positive global cues and investor optimism of FII coming back to India due to loss in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks.

As of 9.25 am, Sensex was up 115 points, or 0.14 per cent at 83,331 and Nifty inched up 35 points, or 0.14 per cent to 25,521.

The broadcap indices outperformed benchmarks in terms of gains, with the Nifty Midcap 100 up or 0.37 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 adding 0.27 per cent.

Asian Paints, L&T and Hindalco were among the major gainers in the Nifty Pack, while losers included Trent, Apollo Hospitals, Max Healthcare, Maruti Suzuki and Dr Reddy’s Labs.

Nifty IT, Metal and Pharma were among the biggest sectoral gainers, adding 0.56 to 0.79 per cent. All the sectoral indices were trading in the green except Nifty Media.

Analysts said that FIIs, particularly the hedge funds, who have been consistently selling in India and taking money out for playing the AI trade, are now likely to pause and slowly reverse the AI trade in favour of non-AI trade in countries like India.

“The strong earnings growth in the US has been a fundamental support that pushed up AI stock valuations to elevated valuations. Countries regarded as AI winners such China, South Korea and Taiwan also have benefited from this AI rally,” said market watchers.

Analysts noted that there are signs of this AI trade losing steam as evidenced by the 3 per cent decline in Nasdaq last week. If this healthy trend persists without high volatility, it will make the US market robust, preempting a bubble formation and its eventual burst, they added.

Further, Wall Street stocks gained as reports suggested the longest shutdown of the US Federal Government might end.

The US markets ended in the green zone in the last trading session, as Nasdaq dipped 0.22 per cent, the S&P 500 added 0.13 per cent, and the Dow inched up 0.16 per cent.

Most of the Asian markets were trading in the green during the morning session. While China’s Shanghai index lost 0.03 per cent, and Shenzhen dipped 0.59 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei added 1.04 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.57 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.04 per cent.

On Friday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 4,889 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 1,787 crore.