Markets opened on a bearish note on Monday, with benchmark indices extending losses amid global uncertainty and sustained foreign institutional investor outflows. The , which closed at ₹83,576.24 on Friday, opened at ₹83,435.31 and declined further to ₹83,145.84, down 430.40 points or 0.51 per cent. The 50 opened at ₹25,669.05 against its previous close of ₹25,683.30 and slipped to ₹25,563.90, losing 119.40 points or 0.46 per cent as of 9.58 am.
“Indian equity markets opened on a bearish note, extending the cautious tone of the past week as global cues remained mixed,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money. “Geopolitical uncertainties, tariff-related concerns, and sustained FII selling continued to weigh on sentiment.”
Markets suffered their worst weekly loss in over three months last week, with the Nifty ending 2.37 per cent lower and the Sensex dropping 2,185 points. The decline was driven by US President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats, including a warning of 500 per cent tariffs on nations purchasing Russian oil, which rattled emerging markets and triggered risk-off sentiment.
“Markets ended sharply lower on Friday as Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats rattled sentiment, with the Nifty sliding 194 points to 25,683, the Sensex falling 605 points to 83,576 and Bank Nifty dropping 435 points to 59,252,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities. “Sentiment was further weighed down by a double hit of Q3 earnings uncertainty and tariff fears.”
Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50, HDFC Life led with a 1.77 per cent rise to ₹763.15, followed by Coal India up 1.30 per cent at ₹423.80, Trent gaining 1.19 per cent to ₹4,020.00, SBI Life advancing 0.95 per cent to ₹2,089.60, and Tata Consumer Products rising 0.76 per cent to ₹1,184.80.
On the losing side, Max Healthcare fell 1.17 per cent to ₹1,005.30, Larsen & Toubro declined 1.07 per cent to ₹3,982.00, Eternal dropped 1.06 per cent to ₹281.35, Apollo Hospitals shed 0.99 per cent to ₹7,185.00, and Eicher Motors slipped 0.95 per cent to ₹7,435.50.
“The drama surrounding the US-India trade deal is getting murkier with strange remarks from the US administration. This is impacting the market,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. “Geopolitical developments in Venezuela, the crisis in Iran and Trump’s threats regarding Greenland are also being viewed by the markets with concern.”
The Defence index gained 1.30 per cent last week, while India Tourism, Oil and Gas, and Energy indices shed over 5 per cent each. Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers to the tune of ₹3,367 crore on January 9, marking the fourth straight session of selling, while domestic institutional investors provided support with net buying of ₹3,701 crore. FII outflows have totaled ₹8,807.8 crore in January so far.
“Rising civilian unrest in Iran and growing speculation over potential U.S. military involvement—raising the risk of a broader regional conflict in the Middle East—have further dampened risk appetite, triggering defensive positioning,” Ponmudi R added.
Technical indicators remained weak across the board. Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, noted that “a decisive break below the 100-day EMA at 25,619 could accelerate selling toward the next major support at 25,318.” Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, stated that “as long as the market trades below the 50-day SMA or 26,000/84,900, the weak formation is likely to continue.”
“Investor focus is also shifting to the Q3 earnings season, with major IT names such as TCS and HCL Technologies set to announce results—outcomes that could play a key role in shaping near-term market direction,” said Ponmudi R.
In commodities, gold and silver surged to fresh record highs, with COMEX Gold marking a lifetime high at $4,612.70 and MCX Gold reaching ₹1,41,250. “Gold gained over 4 per cent last week, while silver rallied more than 7 per cent, driven largely by heightened global uncertainty,” said Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities.
Crude oil held near $59 per barrel after recording its strongest two-day rally since October amid geopolitical risks. “Prolonged unrest in Iran, now entering its third week with reports of heavy casualties, heightened fears of potential supply disruptions from one of OPEC’s major producers,” Kalantri added.