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Sensex Nifty Today: Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty are expected to open on a flat to mildly weak note on Wednesday, January 7. Mixed trends across Asian markets and a soft Gift Nifty are likely to keep investors cautious at the open.

Gift Nifty was trading at 26,206, down 73.5 points or 0.28 per cent. This signals a negative start compared with the previous close of Nifty futures.

On Tuesday, January 6, both Sensex and Nifty extended losses for the second straight session. The fall came despite positive global cues, as investors booked profits near record highs.

The Sensex slipped more than 500 points to an intraday low of 84,900.10. The index later recovered part of the losses but still closed 376 points, or 0.44 per cent, lower at 85,063.34.

The Nifty 50 fell to an intraday low of 26,124.75. It ended the session down 72 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 26,178.70.

Market participants point to multiple reasons behind the soft Gift Nifty trend.

Foreign institutional investors remained marginal sellers for the second day. Buying by domestic funds slowed at higher levels. Profit-booking also picked up as benchmarks hovered near life highs. Heavyweights such as Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank saw selling pressure.

The Nifty has weakened for the second day and has formed a lower high and lower low pattern. This signals near-term weakness.

However, the index has stayed above its 50-day moving average of 25,968 for 67 sessions. This level remains a strong support.

Bank Nifty also formed a lower high and lower low on Tuesday. Still, it managed to close 74 points higher. The index posted its second-best life high close at 60,118 and has held above 59,600 for four sessions.

The Nifty Midcap Select index weakened for the second day and traded within the previous session’s range. It continues to stay above its 50-day moving average of 13,774 and closed at 13,957.

The index is now just 1.2 per cent away from its earlier life high of 14,118 recorded on December 1, 2024.

The smallcap index saw a pause after two days of gains. The earlier sequence of higher high and higher low was broken. The index touched a one-month high intraday but closed with mild losses. Volatility is rising, with a higher high but lower low formation.

The smallcap index is still around 10 per cent below its life high of 19,716 hit on December 12, 2024.

Metal and PSU bank stocks hit fresh intraday life highs. The realty index also climbed to a one-month high.

FIIs increased their index futures long positions to 12.73 per cent from 11.50 per cent.

In the cash market, FIIs sold shares worth Rs 108 crore on Tuesday. Across cash, index futures and stock futures, FIIs were net sellers of around Rs 1,109 crore for the second straight day.

Domestic institutional investors continued their strong run. They bought shares worth Rs 1,749 crore, marking the 91st consecutive day of net buying.

US markets remained firm overnight. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 hit fresh intraday and closing life highs. The Dow has gained around 1,400 points over the past three sessions. The Nasdaq also closed higher for the second day.

The dollar index ended flat near 98, while US bond yields hovered around 4.17 per cent.

The rupee snapped a four-day losing streak and recovered 11 paise to close at 90.17 against the dollar.

Gold strengthened for the second straight day and is trading around Rs 1,382 below its life high. Silver surged sharply and crossed its December 29 life high of Rs 2,54,174. It jumped Rs 12,656 to hit a fresh life high of Rs 2,59,322.

Copper remained at record levels for the second day. Aluminium extended gains for the fifth session and is at its highest level since April 2022. Zinc is at its highest since January 2023, while nickel is at a June 2024 high.

Abhay Shukla is a Senior Sub-Editor at Zee Business, specializing in the analysis and reporting of stock markets, corporate news, personal finance, technology, and the auto sect