Mumbai, Sep 24: The Indian benchmark indices opened marginally lower on Wednesday, on the back of weak global cues, with broad-based selling across all sectors, except PSU bank.

As of 9.21 am, the Sensex was down 289 points, or 0.35 per cent at 81,813 and the Nifty was down 87 points, or 0.35 per cent at 25,082.

Investor sentiments were weighed down by comments from US Fed Chair Jerome Powell about stagflation risks and elevated asset prices. Additionally, the impact of US visa curbs, ongoing foreign outflows, and persistent valuation concerns in domestic markets acted as headwinds for the stock exchanges.

The broad cap indices Nifty Midcap 100 dipped 0.45 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 lost 0.20 per cent.

Trent, SBI, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, and ONGC are among the major gainers on the Nifty pack, while losers include Hero MotoCorp, Titan Company, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto, the top loser, lost 0.71 per cent. Nifty IT (down 0.66 per cent) and Nifty Consumer durables (down 0.70 per cent) also weighed down on the indices. All other sectoral indices were trading in the red except PSU Bank which gained 0.37 per cent.

Analysts said that the global market is fraught with concern due to the elevated asset prices. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that the prices of assets, including stocks, gold, silver, and bitcoin, are currently high. He also reiterated the risks to inflation and employment, indicating that the Federal Reserve’s policy will be difficult to navigate in the future.

In India, even though the Nifty is around 4 per cent down from the September 2024 peak, valuations continue to be higher than the long-term averages. But these valuations will become justifiable when the earnings growth picks up, hopefully in FY27, they said.

The US markets ended in the red zone overnight, as Nasdaq dipped 0.95 per cent, the S&P 500 dropped 0.55 per cent, and the Dow lost 0.19 per cent in the last trading session.

Most of the Asian markets were trading in the green during the morning session. While China’s Shanghai index edged up 0.45 per cent, and Shenzhen advanced 0.92 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.43 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.74 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.21 per cent.

On Tuesday, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,551 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 2,671 crore.

Zeenat Shabrin has made history by becoming the first woman elected as president of the Mumbai Youth Congress. She secured the highest number of votes—10,076 in a fiercely contested election.

Following the directive of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Youth Congress office-bearers are now elected rather than nominated. Nine candidates contested the Mumbai Youth Congress presidential election, with voting held between May 16 and June 17. Zeenat’s victory marks a significant milestone for women’s representation in the organization.

A highly educated and socially active leader, Zeenat has been involved in social movements since her school days, campaigning for human rights and animal welfare. After joining the Youth Congress, she consistently raised her voice on youth-related issues and organized agitations for their welfare.

After her win, Zeenat said, “The Indian Youth Congress has given me, a person from a non-political background, a platform. I wholeheartedly thank the Indian National Congress, Mumbai Congress, Maharashtra Congress, and the Mumbai Youth Congress family for their guidance and trust. I eagerly look forward to working with the new committee. We will strive to become the voice of the youth of Mumbai.”

She further added that under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Indian Youth Congress National President Uday Bhan Chimb, the Youth Congress will continue to strengthen the organisation while safeguarding democracy and the Constitution.

Mumbai: A social media post featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a red saree triggered political drama in Dombivali, where BJP workers retaliated by making a Congress leader wear a saree in public. The incident followed a viral morphed video of the Prime Minister, shared on Facebook by senior Congress leader Prakash alias ‘Mama’ Pagare.

Pagare, a veteran Congress functionary from Dombivali, had posted the edited video on Monday with the caption, “Sorry girls, I too want to stay in trend.” The clip was set to a popular Marathi song “Mi Kashala Arshaat Pahu Ga,” showing a morphed image of Modi draped in a saree. The post quickly drew sharp reactions from the BJP’s Kalyan district unit, which accused Pagare of insulting the Prime Minister.

Determined to give a ‘fitting reply,’ local BJP leaders devised their own symbolic protest. Acting on a tip-off that Pagare usually spends mornings near Manpada Road in Dombivali (East), district BJP chief Nandu Parab, mandal president Karan Jadhav, and party functionaries, including Sandeep Mali and Datta Malekar, confronted him on Tuesday morning.

Pagare, dressed in a white kurta, pyjamas and polished black shoes, was caught off guard when BJP workers surrounded him. They forcibly draped him with a brand-new ornate saree (shaloo), worth Rs 5,000, purchased earlier that day from a local cloth shop.

“What are you doing?” Pagare reportedly shouted, but BJP workers completed the act, warning him against repeating such actions. One party member even patted him on the cheek in a sarcastic gesture before the group dispersed.

Speaking to the press later, BJP’s Kalyan district president Nandu Parab justified the act, saying, “If anyone attempts to malign our senior leaders on social media, we will respond in kind. Today, Pagare had to face this in public because he disrespected the Prime Minister. Let this be a warning.