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The Indian stock market began trading this week on a muted note and ended the session on Monday in red. Sentiment across markets remained muted after Moody's downgraded the credit rating for the US.

As such, both Sensex and Nifty, settled today in the lower territory. The BSE Sensex declined more than 250 points and closed just above 82,050, while the NSE Nifty50 ended trading under 24,950, falling over 50 points.

On the 30-share Sensex, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, State Bank of India, and HDFC Bank emerged among the gainers. Meanwhile, the laggards included Eternal, Infosys, TCS, Tech M, and Reliance.

Broader Markets

In the broader markets, majorly the indices closed higher. The Nifty Microcap 250 drove the gains and climbed 1.19 per cent. Sectorally, the Realty and PSU Bank indices dominated and ended 2.26 per cent and 1.46 per cent higher respectively. Meanwhile, the IT index clocked the biggest hit and settled 1.30 per cent lower.

"Markets languished in negative territory for major part of the trading session as weak Asian and European indices resulted in investors resorting to profit-taking in IT, capital goods and oil & gas shares," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Oil Prices, Rupee, And More

Globally, Asian indices saw a mixed response. South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong's markets closed lower on Monday, while Shanghai indices ended trading in the positive territory. The European markets traded lower on Monday, while the US markets settled higher in the last trading session on Friday.

The global oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.41 per cent to touch $65.14 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased Indian equities worth Rs 8,831.05 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

The Indian rupee climbed high and settled at 85.40 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, appreciating 17 paise. This surge was driven by a weak US dollar index and a fall in crude oil prices. Forex traders explained that investors remained wary as Moody's lowered the investment grade rating for the US last week, resulting in a decline in the dollar index.