Mumbai, Oct 1: Domestic equity benchmarks opened lower on Thursday amid continued foreign fund outflows with auto and cement stocks leading sectoral losses.

Sensex opened at 72,192.89, down 287.39 points or 0.39 per cent. Nifty began trading session declining 76.75 points or 0.34 per cent to 22,543.70.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto, Nifty Cement, Nifty Realty, Nifty Media and Nifty Healthcare were top laggards, plunging up to 2.76 per cent in early deals. Energy, metal and pharma indices also traded sharply lower, falling between 0.86 per cent and 0.95 per cent.

On the other hand, Nifty IT rose more than 1 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank also advanced 0.60 per cent.

The market remained under pressure after foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling streak.

On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers for the fifth consecutive session and offloaded equities worth more than Rs 10,148 crore, according to provisional data.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued to provide support, purchasing equities worth Rs 11,271 crore during the session.

Analysts said sustained FII selling, coupled with rising US bond yields, could keep large-cap equities under pressure in the near term. FIIs sold equities worth Rs 45,536 crore through exchanges in September, while investing Rs 9,676 crore through the primary market, they added.

The experts further noted that the near-term market structure remains sideways to bearish, with immediate support for the Nifty placed around 22,500-22,550 and resistance at 22,800-22,900.

They said a sustained move above the resistance zone could improve sentiment, while a break below the support level may keep selling pressure intact.

Analysts also pointed to crude oil prices as a key factor to watch, noting that a decline in Brent crude below $98 a barrel could provide some relief to the market.

Mumbai, Sep 30: Domestic equity benchmarks opened flat on Wednesday tracking mixed global cues as investors remained cautious after foreign investors extended their selling streak to a fourth straight session.

Nifty opened at 22,665, down about 50 points or 0.23 per cent. Sensex began trading at 72,441.15, lower by 87.92 points or 0.12 per cent.

In early trade, the Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom index was top sectoral gainer which rose more than 1 per cent.

Meanwhile, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Chemicals, Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Cement and Nifty Media also jumped up to 1 per cent.

In contrast, metal stocks were among the laggards with Nifty Metal falling 0.42 per cent. Healthcare and pharmaceutical indices were also marginally lower.

Market experts said elevated US bond yields were contributing to foreign investor selling, while the recent correction had created attractive valuations in parts of the Indian market.

“From the Indian investors’ perspective, this sharp correction in the market presents an opportunity. Largecaps with good growth prospects have reached attractive valuations,” they said.

Experts also noted that a correction in crude oil prices could trigger a market rally with largecap market leaders potentially leading such a move.

Technical analysts said the market could attempt to stabilise after its recent decline, with buying emerging around key technical levels.

Nifty had formed a hammer candle in the previous session, indicating buying interest at lower levels, while strength in select heavyweight stocks helped limit the decline.

The near-term structure has improved towards sideways to mildly bullish following the reversal from 22,600.

Immediate support is seen at 22,650-22,700, while resistance is placed at 22,950-23,000, according to the experts.

On Tuesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their selling streak to a fourth consecutive session, offloading equities worth nearly Rs 10,000 crore, according to provisional data.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided support, buying equities worth nearly Rs 7,000 crore.

In addition, Asian markets were broadly positive in early hours despite a mildly weaker Wall Street session, while investors remained focused on upcoming US economic data and global market trends for further direction.

Mumbai, Sep 29: Gold and silver prices traded lower on Tuesday with precious metals declining up to 1 per cent amid elevated US yields and uncertainty over the US-Iran standoff which weighed on bullion sentiment.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures (December) were trading at Rs 1,48,410 per 10 grams, down Rs 487 or 0.33 per cent.

The yellow metal declined as much as 0.50 per cent or Rs 747 to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,48,150 by 10:34 am. It touched an intraday high of Rs 1,49,034, up 0.09 per cent or Rs 137.

On the other hand, silver futures (December) fell as much as 1.29 per cent or Rs 2,942 to hit an intraday low of Rs 2,24,500 per kg.

At the last count, the white metal was trading at Rs 2,25,338, down Rs 2,104 or 0.93 per cent. It touched an intraday high of Rs 2,26,359, down 0.47 per cent or Rs 1,083.

The selling pressure in precious metals came amid elevated tensions between the US and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz which kept energy prices higher.

Spot gold was also trading lower after falling 4 per cent in the previous session to a seven-week low.

Iranian officials reportedly have privately expressed pessimism about reaching an agreement with Washington to end hostilities before the US midterm elections in November.

The developments came after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the critical waterway within seven days.

The uncertainty has kept energy prices elevated while higher US yields have added pressure on non-yielding assets such as gold and silver.

According to commodity experts, immediate resistance for gold is placed at Rs 1,50,000-1,50,700, followed by Rs 1,52,000-1,52,600, while support is seen at Rs 1,48,000-1,47,300, followed by Rs 1,46,000-1,45,300.

However, the near-term bias remained cautious, with a sustained move above Rs 1,50,000 needed to confirm a recovery. A decisive break below Rs 1,48,000 could trigger another decline.

For silver, the experts said the metal opened with a gap-down near Rs 2,26,000 and remained below the Rs 2,27,000-2,28,000 zone, which has turned into resistance following Monday’s steep decline.

Immediate resistance for silver is seen at Rs 2,27,000-2,28,000, followed by Rs 2,32,000-2,33,000. Support is placed at Rs 2,24,000-2,23,000, followed by Rs 2,20,000-2,19,000.

The bias for silver remained cautious to negative, with a sustained move above Rs 2,28,000 needed to stabilise the setup. A decisive break below Rs 2,24,000 could expose the metal to the Rs 2,20,000 region.