Stock market takes a downturn: Nifty-Sensex close in the red as investor caution prevails

Mumbai (Maharshtra) [India], January 8 (ANI): The Stock market faced a notable downturn on Monday, with both the NSE Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex closing in negative territory.
The Nifty 50 recorded a decline of 197.80 points, equivalent to 0.91 per cent, settling at 21,513. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex concluded the session with a substantial loss of 670.93 points, representing a 0.93 per cent decrease, and closed at 71,355.22.
The broader market indices also experienced declines, particularly in midcap stocks. The Bank Nifty index saw a considerable drop of 708.75 points, marking a 1.47 per cent decrease, closing at 47,450.25.
Simultaneously, the BSE Midcap index fell by 295.7 points, indicating a 0.78 per cent decline, and settled at 37,410.83. The Nifty Midcap 100 recorded a slip of 0.87 per cent, concluding at 46,989.45 points.
Varun Aggarwal, founder and managing director, Profit Idea said, "In the derivatives market, the Nifty weekly contract displayed the highest open interest at 22,500 for Calls and 21,000 for Puts. Monthly contracts, on the other hand, showed the highest open interest at 22,000 for Calls and 21,000 for Puts".
He added, "Notably, there were new open interest additions at 23,000 for Calls and 21,700 for Puts in weekly contracts. In monthly contracts, open interest additions were observed at 21,800 for both Calls and Puts".
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) played a notable role in the derivatives market. They increased their future index long positions by 1.90 per cent, simultaneously reducing future index shorts by 1.77 per cent.
FIIs also witnessed a significant surge in index options activity, with a 55.33 per cent rise in Call longs, a 34.79 per cent increase in Call shorts, a 71.58 per cent increase in Put longs, and a 10.42 per cent increase in Put shorts.
The negative sentiment in the domestic market mirrored the trend in major Asian markets. Indices such as the Shanghai Composite Index, Hang Seng, and KOSPI closed in the red, indicating a broader regional impact.
European counterparts, including FTSE, CAC, and DAX, also traded lower, reflecting a global trend of caution.
Investor apprehension remains high as the market anticipates the release of December quarter earnings reports from India Inc.
Two major IT giants, Infosys and TCS, are scheduled to unveil their Q3 financial results on Thursday, January 11.
Expectations for muted revenue and subdued profit in Q3 are attributed to weak demand in the IT sector, contributing to the prevailing cautious sentiment in the market. (ANI)