IT Stocks Lead Gainers as Sensex Falls 300

Markets opened flat to slightly lower today, with the Nifty50 opening at 22,599.05, down 4 points from Wednesday's close of 22,603.05. The Sensex opened marginally higher at 72,668 but then slid by more than 300 points in early trade. Sentiment is weighed down by elevated crude oil prices, US 10-year Treasury yields near multi-year highs (around 5.3%), weak Asian markets and continued foreign investor outflows. IT stocks are the pocket of strength. TCS, Infosys and other IT names are leading the Nifty gainers in early trade, bucking the broader weakness. After weeks of lagging, this looks like selective buying in a beaten-down sector. Exact percentage moves weren't available in the early data.

and Bajaj Finance are among the early laggards. Rate-sensitive financials are still under pressure after the RBI's first rate hike since February 2023, which took the repo rate to 5.50%. The market setup is cautious. The GIFT Nifty pointed to a muted start, and options data shows heavy call writing at 22,700-23,000, which suggests limited upside. Put open interest at 22,000 marks the nearest support. Global cues are the main drag. Wall Street lost ground overnight as higher bond yields curbed appetite for equities, and Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's KOSPI also fell.