Sensex Opens Lower; Nifty Slips Below 26,000 as FIIs Sell, Infosys Declines 1%

Benchmark equity indices opened lower on Tuesday amid persistent FII selling and cautious global sentiment. FMCG and IT stocks dragged the market in early trade.

At 9:28 am, the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 16.48 points to 84,884.23, while the NSE Nifty50 declined 4.55 points to 25,954.95, falling below the 26,000 mark.

According to Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, Nifty’s attempt to surpass its September 2024 high is encountering resistance due to a sharp uptick in FII outflows, which amounted to ₹4,171 crore in the cash market on Monday.

He noted that global cues were mixed.
A strong rally in US markets and expectations of a 25 bps Fed rate cut supported sentiment. However, the 2.69% surge in the Nasdaq and a rebound in “Mag 7” tech stocks revived fears of an AI-driven market bubble.

Vijayakumar added that India may benefit only when the ongoing AI trade in the US cools down, enabling capital rotation toward emerging markets and non-AI sectors.

Top Gainers and Losers

Among the early gainers:

• Reliance Industries: +0.39%

• Bharat Electronics: +0.98%

• Tata Steel: +0.79%

  

• State Bank of India: +0.49%

• Bajaj Finance Services: +0.49%

Top losers included:

• Power Grid: –0.83%

• Infosys: –0.72%

• Tech Mahindra: –0.53%

• Adani Ports: –0.45%

• Trent: –0.39%

Vijayakumar said Q2 results highlight that midcaps are outperforming largecaps in both revenue and profit growth, explaining the midcap index's resilience. He expects the narrative to shift in favour of largecaps once Q3 earnings indicate stronger recovery.

Largecaps in telecom, automobiles, private banks, PSU banks, NBFCs, and capital goods are likely to remain strong, while smallcaps may face pressure due to elevated valuations.