Stock market today: Nifty50 trades below 25,200; BSE Sensex plunges over 500 points

Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmarks, opened in red on Thursday on weak global cues. While Nifty50 went below 25,200, BSE Sensex was down over 500 points. At 10:00 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 25,182.10, down 160 points or 0.63%. BSE Sensex was at 81,780.34, down 564.34 points or 0.69%.Analysts are of the view that stock markets may extend their recent gains, on the back of improving sentiment around the India-EU free trade agreement talks and anticipation ahead of the upcoming Union Budget. Domestic markets are also likely to take cues from global trends and ongoing third-quarter earnings announcements. Reports of the India-US trade deal talks progressing well, may also bolster the stock markets.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “Nifty’s up move of 300 points during the last two days should be seen more as a temporary response in anticipation of the Budget to be presented on Sunday. Since the bears won’t risk going into the Budget with huge open short positions, they have covered some shorts and this has contributed to the 300 point rally in the Nifty. It is important to note that there is no change in the short to medium-term strategy of FIIs, which is ‘sell India’ and move the money to other performing markets. Therefore, unless there is some big announcement in the Budget nudging FIIs to return to India, they will continue to sell in India thereby dragging the market downMarkets can always surprise. Some positive news/event can trigger a rally in the market. There are rumours of a sudden announcement of a US-India trade deal. If that happens close on the heels of the path breaking India-EU-trade deal, that would be a major boost to Indian economy and corporate earnings in FY27, and therefore, the market will respond positively.”On Wednesday, Wall Street delivered a subdued performance. The Nasdaq ended marginally higher, supported by gains in chip-related stocks, while the S&P 500 finished largely flat on Wednesday. Investor response remained muted after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, in line with expectations, and offered little clarity on the timing of future rate cuts.In commodities, gold continued its record-setting run on Thursday, moving closer to the $5,600 per ounce level as investors sought safe-haven assets amid ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainties. Silver also advanced, coming close to the $120 mark.On the institutional front, foreign portfolio investors were net buyers of Indian equities worth Rs 480 crore on Thursday. Domestic institutional investors provided stronger support, with net purchases amounting to Rs 3,360 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)