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Markets Today: Indian stock markets opened with small gains on Thursday, amid mixed global cues.
Stock Market Today
Markets Today: After trading in a narrow range for most of the session, Indian benchmark indices slipped sharply towards the close on Thursday, May 8, as investors offloaded equities amid escalating geopolitical tensions and heightened uncertainty from the weekly F&O expiry.
The Sensex ended the day down 411.97 points, or 0.51%, at 80,334.81, while the Nifty 50 fell 140.60 points, or 0.58%, to close at 24,273.80. Market breadth was firmly negative, with 2,463 stocks declining versus 1,229 advancing, and 123 remaining unchanged.
Broader markets took a bigger hit, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 and Midcap 100 indices shedding up to 1.5%, reflecting stronger bearish pressure outside the large-cap space.
Sectorally, the picture was mixed. Auto, FMCG, banking, and pharma stocks led the losses, with their respective indices falling nearly 2%. In contrast, IT and media stocks managed to register modest gains, defying the broader selloff.
Volatility surged as the India VIX—often dubbed the fear gauge—jumped 10% to 21.01, indicating increased nervousness among market participants. The spike was driven by both geopolitical concerns and the impact of the weekly derivatives expiry.
Global Cues
Asia-Pacific markets were largely positive in Thursday morning trade. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.23%, while the broader Topix slipped slightly by 0.12%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.23%, with the Kosdaq up 0.61%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched higher by 0.12%.
In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.26%, and the mainland CSI 300 gained 0.31%.
Overnight, Wall Street ended in the green following the Fed’s status quo on rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.43% to close at 5,631.28, the Nasdaq Composite added 0.27% to finish at 17,738.16, and the Dow Jones advanced 0.70% to 41,113.97.
US futures were also trading higher following the Fed’s announcement. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.44%, Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.66%, and Dow Jones futures were up 0.25%.
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