Mumbai, May 20 (IANS) Indian stock markets opened lower on Wednesday, mirroring weak global cues from the US and Asian markets amid rising bond yields and geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

Sensex opened at 74,806.49, down 394.36 points or 0.52 per cent, while Nifty began the session at 23,457.25, slipping 160.75 points or 0.68 per cent.

Later in the morning trade, the 30-share index declined as much as 671 points or 0.89 per cent to hit an intraday low of 74,529. Similarly, the Nifty fell 220 points or 0.93 per cent to 23,397.

Sectoral indices were largely in the red, with realty and media emerging as the top laggards. Nifty Media declined 1.90 per cent, while Nifty Realty fell 1.63 per cent.

Meanwhile, Nifty Chemicals slipped 1.53 per cent, while auto stocks also remained under pressure, with Nifty Auto down 1.42 per cent.

Among banking counters, Nifty PSU Bank fell 1.15 per cent. Nifty FMCG declined 1.04 per cent, while Nifty Cement slipped 1.02 per cent.

From the Nifty pack, Tata Steel, Bharat Electronics Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki India, JSW Steel, Grasim Industries, ICICI Bank, and Hindustan Unilever were among the top losers.

The volatility tracker India VIX rose more than 3 per cent to around 19.

According to market experts, overall sentiment remained cautious as momentum indicators continued to flash bearish signals, while the index traded below all key moving averages.

“Technically, Nifty formed a small bearish candle with an upper wick on the daily chart, indicating hesitation and selling pressure at higher levels amid ongoing consolidation. The index remained below the 38.2 per cent Fibonacci retracement level of both the April rally and the broader February-to-April correction, signalling a continued bearish bias,” the experts said.

On the commodities front, international benchmark Brent crude declined 0.77 per cent to $110.42 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded about 1 per cent lower at $103.12 per barrel.

In Asia, markets fell for a fourth straight session. Major indices, including the Nikkei, Hang Seng, and KOSPI, were trading lower by 1.5 per cent, 0.6 per cent, and more than 2 per cent, respectively.

Overnight in the US, Wall Street ended lower, with the S&P 500 declining 0.67 per cent and the Nasdaq closing 0.87 per cent lower.

–IANS

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