Indian Equity Markets Open Lower Amid Weak US Cues
Mumbai – Indian equity indices opened on a negative note on Friday, reflecting weak signals from the US markets. At 9:24 a.m., the Sensex was down by 142 points, or 0.17%, trading at 81,469, while the Nifty declined by 36 points, or 0.12%, to settle at 24,960.
Banking stocks faced notable selling pressure, with the Nifty Bank index falling by 204 points, or 0.40%, to reach 51,326. In the Sensex pack, HCL Tech, Wipro, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Titan, Infosys, JSW Steel, TCS, and IndusInd Bank emerged as the top gainers.
Conversely, major losses were seen among stocks such as Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Maruti Suzuki, HUL, Nestle, and SBI.
In a contrasting trend, midcap and smallcap indices were trading positively. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose by 79 points, or 0.13%, to 58,995, while the Nifty Smallcap index increased by 39 points, or 0.18%, to 18,939.
Sector-wise, gains were noted in IT, PSU banks, pharmaceuticals, metals, media, and commodities, while losses were recorded in the auto, financial services, FMCG, realty, and energy sectors.
Most Asian markets were trading in the green, with Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Jakarta showing significant gains. In contrast, the US market closed lower on Thursday.
Market experts suggest that volatility is expected to persist in the near term, characterized by alternating patterns of foreign institutional investor (FII) selling and domestic institutional investor (DII) buying. “Attractive valuations in other markets, particularly in Chinese stocks, may lead to further FII selling in India, given the elevated Indian valuations. Additionally, concerns about earnings downgrades in the second half of FY25 could challenge the sustainability of these valuations,” they noted.
However, a positive trend is emerging with leading private sector banks attracting accumulation and demonstrating resilience even amidst a weak market backdrop. Experts believe this segment is among the most attractively valued in the current market landscape.
On October 10, foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree, offloading equities worth ₹4,926 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹3,878 crore during the same period.
