Sensex Declines 0.25%, Nifty Down 100 Points As Investors Await US Inflation Data

Indian equity markets opened cautiously on Thursday, as traders awaited crucial US inflation data. The BSE Sensex began at 78,111, while the NSE Nifty started at 24,431, both slightly lower than their prior closing prices. However, both indices experienced further declines during early trading hours. At 10:20 am, the Sensex had slipped 188 points, or 0.24%, to 77,777, while the Nifty slipped almost 100 points to 24,336.

The decline in the Sensex and Nifty was attributed to investors' wariness of rising crude oil prices, which continued to cast a shadow over market sentiment. Meanwhile, the latest MSCI Standard Index review saw several Indian companies added or removed from the index. Laurus Labs, Lenskart, Adani Energy Solutions, and Groww were added, while Balkrishna Industries, SBI Cards, and Astral were removed.

This reshuffle is anticipated to boost India's share in the MSCI Standard Index to 11.9% from 11.8%, with the index now comprising 166 companies, up from 165.

Experts believe that this change could lead to estimated inflows of approximately $1.52 billion into Indian equities. Among the newly added companies, Laurus Labs is expected to attract the largest inflow, around $598 million. Conversely, the three companies removed from the index are expected to experience outflows totaling around $450 million.

Global market focus remains on the forthcoming US inflation data, with stock futures in major markets remaining largely unchanged or slightly altered. Asian markets generally gained, with South Korea's Kospi up 3.13% and Japan's Nikkei 225 increasing 1.5%. However, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 saw a decline of 0.6%.