The equity benchmark indices pared some of the gains amid fag end selling on Thursday, tracking weak global cues and continued foreign fund outflows.
The Sensex opened firm and rose 149.30 points or 0.17 per cent to 84,540.57. The Nifty advanced 45.05 points to 25,803.05 in early trade.
At around 3 p.m., the Sensex was down around 250 points from day's high to 84,689.16, while the broader Nifty was at 25,874.90.
Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finance were among the major laggards in the Nifty50 pack, declining up to 1 percent, while Adani Enterprises and Kotak Mahindra Bank rose more than 3 percent. Market breadth was positive as bout 2194 shares advanced, 1560 shares declined and 147 shares unchanged.
Key factors behind market decline
1) Divided Fed stance: The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday but indicated borrowing costs are unlikely to come down further in the near term as policymakers await clearer trends in the job market and inflation. New projections showed a wide divergence in views among Fed officials about the outlook for 2026 and beyond.
2026 dot plot reveals strong divide on rate cut outlook
2) Oracle earnings impact: Oracle’s weaker-than-expected profit and revenue outlook weighed on sentiment. The company’s shares slid more than 11 percent in after-hours trade, pulling down S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures in Asian hours and triggering losses in AI-linked stocks across the region.
3) FII selling: Foreign Institutional Investors remained net sellers of equities worth Rs 1,651.06 crore on Wednesday, marking the 10th consecutive session of outflows.
4) Weak rupee: The rupee slipped nearly 0.3 percent to 90.21 against the US dollar in morning trade, pressured by near-term dollar payment outflows by local corporates. This offset any support from the Fed’s rate cut, while Asian currencies moved mixed and the dollar index regained some ground.
5) Firm crude prices: Brent crude inched up 0.03 percent to USD 62.23 per barrel. Higher crude prices tend to weigh on domestic equities as they can push up import costs for India, a major oil importer.
Technical view
Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said the Nifty’s revisit of the previous day’s low of 25,732 offered little directional clarity, with momentum indicators remaining soft. "The bias continues to favour further slippage. A regrouping of bulls is expected in the 25,690–25,630 zone, and a fall below this band would weaken upside prospects," he said.
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