Mumbai, Apr 25: Stock market indices opened on Thursday in decline after a three-day rally. The Nifty 50 index declined 60 points to 22,341 at the opening trading session today while the Sensex slumped 190 points to 73,663.

In the Nifty 50 index, 19 shares opened with an advance while 31 shares in the list opened in the red. Axis bank, Eicher Motors and HCL Technologies were among the top gainers in the Nifty 50. While the Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and Tata consumer were made into the list of top losers.

After the RBI barred Kotak Mahindra Bank on Wednesday from onboarding new customers through its online and mobile banking channels, and issuing fresh credit cards, the shares of the Kotak bank fell more than 9 percent to Rs 1671.95.

The shares of Hindustan Unilever Ltd also declined by 1.30 percent after the company reported a fall of 6 per cent in standalone net profit at Rs 2,406 crore for the fiscal fourth quarter as against Rs 2,552 crore in the year-ago period.

Tata consumer fell for the second consecutive day by 0.97 per cent , a day earlier it declined by 5 percent after the investors reacted to the announcement of the quarterly results.

"Markets are focussed on corporate earnings as the Fed rate action has got deferred and geopolitical risks have receded in investor perception. Rising US Treasury yields and a soft guidance from Magnificent Seven constituent Meta lead to a soft US market" said Ajay Bagga Banking and Market expert.

On Wednesday, the domestic equity indices extended their winning streak, with the Nifty 50 closing above the 22,400 level. The Sensex gained 114.49 points (0.16 per cent) to reach 73,852.94, while the Nifty 50 settled 34.40 points (0.15 per cent) higher at 22,402.40.

"Technically, the Nifty 50 formed a small negative candle on the daily chart, indicating range-bound movement around 22,450 - 22,500 levels. The index is currently near the crucial overhead resistance of the previous opening downside gap of 15th April around 22,500 levels. A decisive move above this resistance could lead to an upside breakout, with the next target at 22,800 levels" said Varun Aggarwal, MD, Profit Idea.

Asian markets have opened around 1 per cent lower today with the Bank of Japan meeting outcome being watched closely for any action on protecting the Yen levels at 155 yen/$ levels.

Oil prices experienced a modest decline, while gold remained relatively unchanged. Treasury yields opened steady in Asia after rising on the previous day.

(ANI)

Read Business News