Stock market today: BSE Sensex moves below 77,000 mark; Nifty50 near 23,350

Stock market today: Indian equity benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty50, opened in red on Monday. While BSE Sensex moved below the 77,000 level, Nifty50 was near 23,375. At 9:20 AM, BSE Sensex was trading at 76,898.86, down 311 points or 0.40%. Nifty50 was at 23,384.15, down 117 points or 0.50%.
The domestic markets concluded the previous week with losses, but managed to secure gains for the entire week, marking the third straight weekly increase.
"Overall, the market is likely to remain steady and consolidate at higher levels in the near term. Budget-related sectors are likely to remain in action on the back of news flow and expectation growth focus policy," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal.
Technically, a decisive move above 23,600 could propel the Nifty towards 24,000 in the short term, while a failure to hold above 23,300 might trigger a market panic, potentially leading to a fall towards 22,750, feel analysts.
India VIX, a measure of market fear, decreased by 1.2% to settle at 13.18 levels. Global markets showed mixed performance, with S&P 500 futures remaining stable, Hang Seng futures falling 0.3%, Japan's Topix rising 0.3%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 falling 0.2%, and Euro Stoxx 50 futures falling 0.7%.
The dollar remained stable as traders awaited new information about U.S. inflation trends, which could impact interest rates. The yen fell to its lowest point since April 29, despite Japanese authorities intervening with a substantial 9.8 trillion yen to stabilize the currency.
Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Monday for a second straight session, weighed down by a stronger dollar and cooled investors' risk appetite. Brent crude futures slid 0.5% to $84.84 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 0.5% at $80.34 a barrel.
Several stocks are in the F&O ban period today, including Balrampur Chini Mills, PEL, Chambal Fertilisers, Indus Tower, Hindustan Copper, HAL, GNFC, and Granules. The net long position of FIIs increased from Rs 72,465 crore on Thursday to Rs 73,991 crore on Friday.