Market Opening, August 2: Sensex Falls Over 700 Points as Global Trends Impact Domestic Trading

After setting new records the previous day, the domestic market experienced a significant drop at today's opening. The BSE Sensex fell more than 700 points right from the start, while the Nifty opened with a loss of about 200 points.

By 9:20 am, the Sensex was trading around 81,240 points, down 630 points, and the Nifty had slipped about 200 points, falling below 24,820 points.

Pre-market signals had already hinted at a major decline. Nifty futures in GIFT City were trading at a steep discount, down by approximately 215 points and approaching 24,820 points. In the pre-open session, the Sensex was around 81,160 points, down over 700 points, while Nifty had fallen by more than 220 points, dipping below 24,790 points.

The previous day saw historic highs for the domestic market. On Thursday, the Sensex broke through the 82,000 mark, reaching an all-time high of 82,129.49 points before ending the session at 81,867.55 points, up 126.20 points (0.15%). Nifty also reached a new peak, crossing 25,000 for the first time and closing at 25,010.90 points, up 59.75 points (0.24%).

In contrast, US markets experienced declines on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.21%, the S&P 500 falling 1.37%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropping 2.30%. Asian markets are also in the red today, with Japan’s Nikkei down nearly 5%, the Topix falling over 5%, South Korea's Kospi down 2.60%, Kosdaq down 2.56%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng showing losses.

Early trading saw a drop in most major Sensex stocks, with Tata Motors leading the decline at almost 4%. Maruti Suzuki and Tata Steel both fell by more than 3%. Other notable losses included L&T, JSW Steel, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, UltraTech Cement, and SBI, which all dropped by 1-2%. The only stocks in the green were Hindustan Unilever, ITC, and Nestle India.