The Indian equity market opened on a cautious note on February 18, tracking mixed global cues. The broader market underperformed the benchmarks, with both BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices falling 0.6 percent each. At 09:47 AM, the Sensex was down 16 points or 0.02 percent at 75,980, and the Nifty was down 28 points or0.1 percent at 22,931. About 928 shares advanced, 2,099 shares declined, and 121 shares were unchanged. On February 17, the markets snapped an eight-session losing streak, closing flat. Gains in heavyweight stocks like HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries helped counterbalance pressures from weak earnings and lingering global trade uncertainties. The derivatives market continues to reflect investor uncertainty, with large players adopting a consolidation stance with a slight positive bias, says Ajit Mishra, SVP Research at Religare Broking. Mishra flagged midcap and smallcap stocks as a key concern, warning that while a temporary bounce is possible due to oversold conditions, a clear bottom has yet to form. However, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continue to exit the Indian markets, with net outflows reaching Rs121 crore so far in February.
