The Sensex and Nifty slipped half a percent around noon on March 3, dragged down by oil & gas and financial services stocks, as global trade concerns kept investor sentiment fragile. The indices had opened higher, attempting a rebound after their longest monthly losing streak since 1996. A surprise uptick in domestic growth provided some relief, but global trade uncertainties continued to weigh on sentiment, erasing early gains.
At 11.50 AM, the Sensex was down 330 points or 0.5 percent at 72,865, while the Nifty declined 100 points or 0.5 percent to 22,015. On the NSE, 337 stocks advanced, while 2,280 declined. In the previous session, both indices had plunged nearly 2 percent to nine-month lows. Concerns over slowing domestic growth and aggressive U.S. tariffs have dragged the Nifty and Sensex down 19 percent and 18 percent, respectively, from their September peaks. Meanwhile, the broader small- and mid-cap indices have slipped over 20 percent from record highs, officially entering bear market territory.
Relentless foreign selling has deepened the market downturn, with FIIs offloading Rs 58,988 crore worth of Indian equities in February. Domestic investors, however, have stepped in, purchasing stocks worth Rs 64,853 crore.
"The main triggers for the sustained FII selling in India have been the high valuations and the attractive US bond yields,"said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. However, he noted that large-cap valuations are now reasonable, with financials looking particularly attractive.
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"US 10-year bond yields have declined to 4.2 percent. So, there is a possibility of FIIs reducing their selling, going forward."
On the growth front, Vijayakumar highlighted positive signals. "The Q3 GDP growth numbers picking up from 5.6 percent in Q2 to 6.2 percent in Q3 and suggesting above 7 percent growth in Q4 is indicative of cyclical recovery which bodes well for the stock market," he said.
He also sees the market correction as a buying opportunity for long-term investors. "It is difficult to predict when the market will bottom out. But this is the time to start buying without bothering about the near-term volatility."
The broader market took a beating, with the BSE Midcap index down nearly 2 percent and the BSE Smallcap index sliding 3 percent.
Among sectoral indices, only Nifty IT traded in the green, rising 0.4 percent as brokerage commentary turned positive after Salesforce guided for 7-8 percent growth in FY26.
Nifty Oil & Gas was the worst-hit, shedding 2 percent, dragged down by Reliance Industries (RIL), ONGC, and GAIL. Reliance Industries, the second-heaviest stock on the benchmark indices, fell 3 percent to a 16-month low, heading for its worst session in five months. Bloomberg reported that Reliance New Energy risks a fine due to delays in setting up a battery cell plant.
On the Nifty 50, the biggest losers were Adani Enterprises, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, RIL, and Coal India, which declined 2-4 percent. Meanwhile, Infosys, Wipro, Grasim, Eicher Motors, and UltraTech emerged as the top gainers, climbing close to 2 percent.
Shares of Coal India tumbled 4 percent as its February business update indicated a decline in production, hurting investor sentiment. Meanwhile, Coffee Day Enterprises surged 20 percent after the NCLAT Chennai bench dismissed a bankruptcy plea filed by IDBI Trusteeship over a Rs 228 crore default.
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities, said that Nifty remains technically weak below 24,073, with downside risks at 22,000 and 21,281.
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