Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Friday, dragged down by losses in Bharti Airtel, SBI and IT stocks. However, ongoing trade talks with the United States are expected to lend support, extending the recent rally driven by easing geopolitical tensions.
The BSE Sensex was trading 223 points, or 0.27%, lower at 82,307. The Nifty50 was down 78 points, or 0.31%, trading at 24,984 around 9:20 am.
Both benchmarks touched seven-month highs on Thursday. So far this week, the Nifty has gained around 4.5% and the Sensex about 4%. The indices are now just 4.6% and 4% below their all-time highs hit on September 27, 2024.
From the Sensex stocks, Bharti Airtel, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, Infosys, and HCL Tech were the top laggards, falling up to 2.7%. On the other hand, NTPC, Adani Ports, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, and Bajaj Finserv opened with gains.
Bharti Airtel fell nearly 3% as Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) likely offloaded nearly 1.3% of equity in the telecom major via block deals.
IndusInd Bank shares declined after the private lender revealed that its internal audit department (IAD) found "unsubstantiated balances" of Rs 595 crore under "other assets" in its balance sheet. The audit also reviewed the roles of key employees involved in the matter.
On the sectoral front, Nifty Auto, Financial Services, Metal, PSU Bank, Realty, and Consumer Durables opened in the green, while Nifty IT and Private Bank indices were the only ones trading lower.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian equities worth Rs 5,393 crore on Thursday, marking the highest single-day inflow since April 24, 2025.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said India has offered a trade deal with zero tariffs, boosting market sentiment.
India's trade secretary confirmed that talks with the U.S. are progressing well and that a delegation will soon visit Washington to push negotiations forward.
Experts View
"When aggressive market activity happens against the near-consensus view, the market movement can be sharp. Yesterday’s 550-point spike in Nifty from the lows was a classic case of such an unexpected contrarian trend. The near-consensus view was that FIIs will slow down purchases in India and might even turn sellers, preferring the cheaper Chinese stocks in view of the emerging US-China trade deal. This explains the sharp rise in cash holdings of the mutual funds and DIIs turning sellers. But the FII’s aggressive contrarian move against the prevailing consensus by buying stocks for Rs 5,393 crores surprised the majority of market participants," said VK Vijayakumar of Geojit Investments Limited.
"The momentum now clearly favours large caps. If the FIIs continue with their buy India strategy, the market can further surprise on the upside. But the valuations will get stretched, eroding the fundamental support to the market," Vijayakumar added.
Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, said, "Short-term trend of the Nifty remains positive as it is placed above its important short term moving averages. The next resistance for the Nifty is seen at 25207, derived from 76.4% retracement of the entire fall seen from 26277 to 21743. On the downside, 24800 could offer immediate support.
The BSE Sensex was trading 223 points, or 0.27%, lower at 82,307. The Nifty50 was down 78 points, or 0.31%, trading at 24,984 around 9:20 am.
Both benchmarks touched seven-month highs on Thursday. So far this week, the Nifty has gained around 4.5% and the Sensex about 4%. The indices are now just 4.6% and 4% below their all-time highs hit on September 27, 2024.
From the Sensex stocks, Bharti Airtel, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, Infosys, and HCL Tech were the top laggards, falling up to 2.7%. On the other hand, NTPC, Adani Ports, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, and Bajaj Finserv opened with gains.
Bharti Airtel fell nearly 3% as Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) likely offloaded nearly 1.3% of equity in the telecom major via block deals.
IndusInd Bank shares declined after the private lender revealed that its internal audit department (IAD) found "unsubstantiated balances" of Rs 595 crore under "other assets" in its balance sheet. The audit also reviewed the roles of key employees involved in the matter.
On the sectoral front, Nifty Auto, Financial Services, Metal, PSU Bank, Realty, and Consumer Durables opened in the green, while Nifty IT and Private Bank indices were the only ones trading lower.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian equities worth Rs 5,393 crore on Thursday, marking the highest single-day inflow since April 24, 2025.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said India has offered a trade deal with zero tariffs, boosting market sentiment.
India's trade secretary confirmed that talks with the U.S. are progressing well and that a delegation will soon visit Washington to push negotiations forward.
Experts View
"When aggressive market activity happens against the near-consensus view, the market movement can be sharp. Yesterday’s 550-point spike in Nifty from the lows was a classic case of such an unexpected contrarian trend. The near-consensus view was that FIIs will slow down purchases in India and might even turn sellers, preferring the cheaper Chinese stocks in view of the emerging US-China trade deal. This explains the sharp rise in cash holdings of the mutual funds and DIIs turning sellers. But the FII’s aggressive contrarian move against the prevailing consensus by buying stocks for Rs 5,393 crores surprised the majority of market participants," said VK Vijayakumar of Geojit Investments Limited.
"The momentum now clearly favours large caps. If the FIIs continue with their buy India strategy, the market can further surprise on the upside. But the valuations will get stretched, eroding the fundamental support to the market," Vijayakumar added.
Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, said, "Short-term trend of the Nifty remains positive as it is placed above its important short term moving averages. The next resistance for the Nifty is seen at 25207, derived from 76.4% retracement of the entire fall seen from 26277 to 21743. On the downside, 24800 could offer immediate support.
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