Indian market opens on a positive note but turned volatile within half an hour of trading. The BSE SENSEX was last seen trading 33 points lower at 81,526.49, a decline of 0.04%, while the NSE NIFTY50 hovered around the crucial 25,000 mark, down 16 points, or 0.07%.
Despite the benchmark indices turning volatile, the broader market outperformed, with the BSE SmallCap index trading 1% higher at 56,197.58, and the BSE MidCap index rising 0.85% to 48,779.67. All sectors were in the green, led by industrial, telecom, capital goods, and power stocks.
On the NSE, Divi’s Lab, Apollo Hospitals, Infosys, LTI Mindtree, and Tech Mahindra were the top gainers in early trade, while SBI Life, HDFC Life, M&M, Bajaj Auto, and HUL were the leading losers.
Among buzzing stocks, Ahluwalia Contracts surged over 5% after securing a ₹1,307 crore order. Prataap Snacks jumped 8% following the GST Council’s decision to reduce GST on namkeens from 18% to 12%. Hero MotoCorp rose over 1% as Ather Energy, backed by Hero, filed for an IPO with SEBI.
Globally, US markets closed sharply higher, and the dollar strengthened ahead of key economic data. Asian stocks rose slightly, with Japan’s Nikkei gaining 0.4%, though concerns about the Chinese economy limited overall optimism.
