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Indian key benchmark indices finished Monday’s session, January 5, lower as early optimism quickly faded amid profit-booking, while technology stocks witnessed heavy selling on concerns over additional US tariffs, offsetting gains in realty, auto, and metal stocks.

The Nifty 50 closed the day down 0.32% at 26,243, while the S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.41% to 85,413. Broader markets ended mixed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index slipping 0.16% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rising 0.56%, indicating that market breadth continued to favour the bulls.

A US military operation in Venezuela over the weekend that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro stoked fresh geopolitical concerns, though the impact on markets has so far been subdued.

Among sectors, Nifty IT emerged as the top drag, falling 1.52%, followed by Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty Pharma, which declined 1% and 0.28%, respectively.

The sell-off in technology stocks came after US President Donald Trump said tariffs on India could be raised if New Delhi does not meet Washington’s demands to curb purchases of Russian oil.

Imports of goods from India are already subject to a 50% tariff, with half of this imposed as a punitive measure over Russian crude imports.

On the upside, Nifty Realty advanced 2.3%, while Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty FMCG, and Nifty Metal rose 1%, 0.71%, and 0.60%, respectively.

India emerged as the sole laggard among key Asian markets, as the Nikkei 225, Kospi, and Shanghai Composite rose 3%, 3.4%, and 1.4%, respectively, driven by renewed buying in technology stocks, as investors added to bets on technology shares, extending last year’s rally in artificial intelligence–linked companies.

(more to come)

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