Stock Markets Live: Sensex, Nifty Erase Losses; L&T, RIL Gain

• Benchmark indices pare losses to trade little changed
• Nifty down 18 points at 13,742
• Sensex down 30 points at 46,932
• Nifty Bank down 1% at 30,412
• Nifty Micap index down 0.5%
• Nifty Smallcap index little changed
• India Volatility Index up 5.1% to 19.6
• Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Auto are the other major sectoral laggards; down 1% each
• Nifty Pharma index up 0.7% while Nifty I.T. index gains 0.4%
• Larsen & Toubro is the top Nifty gainer; up 3%
• Tata Motors is the top Nifty laggard; down 2.5%
• 37 out of the 50 index constituents trade with losses
• 835 stocks on the NSE trade with gains while 938 stocks decline

Indian equity markets opened the truncated week with modest losses after seven straight week of gains.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened 28 points lower at 46,932 while the NSE Nifty 50 index opened 18 points lower at 13,741.

Among the sectoral indices, the PSU Bank index has opened 1.3% lower and is the top laggard. The Nifty Metal index too is down 0.9% at the start of trade.

Other indices like the Nifty Bank and Nifty Auto are down 0.4% while the Realty index is trading with losses of 0.6%.

Broader markets too have opened little changed in today's session. The Midcap index is trading 0.3% lower while the Smallcap index is unchanged.

780 stocks on the NSE have opened with gains while 743 are trading with losses.

Good Morning!

Indian equity indices gained for seven straight weeks, their longest such run since April 2019.

But as the benchmarks enter a week curtailed by the Christmas holiday, futures are indicating a negative bias at the opening of the trade. The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 0.4% to 13,730 as of 7:55 a.m. on Monday.

Several companies, including Reliance Industries Ltd., will be in focus today. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd. and Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. may react to their analyst day commentary. The Rs 300-crore initial public offering of Antony Waste Handling Cell will also open for subscription.

Steel Authority of India Ltd. has entered the F&O ban, along with Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank and Sun TV.

Globally, Asian markets are trading with losses this morning with benchmarks in Japan and Australia drifting lower. Futures on the Dow Jones are little changed. The index fell 0.4% on Friday.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.6% to $47.81 per barrel, while gold was up 1% to $1,897.67/Oz.

Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary of All You Need To Know before the opening bell.