Opening Bell: Markets Trade In Red Amid Negative Global Cues; Sensex At 64,949.44, Nifty Above 19,400

The markets opened lower on Thursday with Sensex at 64,949.44, down y 26.17 points, and Nifty at 19,431.15 down by 27.95 points.

From Sensex pack, NTPC, Maruti, M&M, Nestle Ind, Asian Paints, and Wipro were the major gainers in the morning session. In contrast, IndusInd Bank, Reliance, UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech, and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.

ABB India, Bosh, Motherson, Chola Holding, Ramco Cements, BASF, Balaji Tele, Zee Entertainment, Engineering India, NCC Limited, Suprajit, Lemontree, Granules, RVNL, Apollo Hospitals, SJVN to announce earnings for the second quarter of this financial year today.

Markets on Wednesday

The benchmark indices on Wednesday ended the day on a positive note. The 30-share BSE Sensex was up by 46.08 points or 0.07 per cent, to close at 64,988.48. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty, was rose by 30.95 points or 0.16 per cent to end the day at 19,437.65. Nifty Bank fell 83.60 points or 0.19 per cent at 43,654.30.

Global markets

On Wednesday, US stocks experienced an uptick in performance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 40.33 points, or 0.12%, to 34,112.27; the S&P 500 had registered a gain of 4.40 points, or 0.10%, closing at 4,382.78; and the Nasdaq Composite had seen an increase of 10.56 points, or 0.08%, ending at 13,650.41.

On Thursday, Asian markets traded higher, with Japan's Nikkei 225 having gained 244.96 points to reach 32,411.44. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose by 24.45 points and reached 17,592.91, while South Korea's KOSPI was up by 8.54 points, reaching 2,430.16. Gifty Nifty stood at 19,519.50, with an 18.50-point increase..

Oil prices

On Wednesday, oil prices experienced a decline of more than 2%, reaching their lowest levels in over three months. Brent crude futures closed down by $2.07, marking a 2.5% decrease and settling at $79.54 per barrel. U.S. crude also saw a decrease of $2.04, equivalent to a 2.6% drop, closing at $75.33 per barrel. Both of these benchmarks reached their lowest points since mid-July.

Rupee

On Thursday, the Indian rupee began the trading day at the same level as the previous day, with an opening rate of 83.26 per dollar, maintaining parity with Wednesday's closing rate of 83.27.