Mumbai, India — The Indian equity indices opened lower on Friday due to profit booking in large-cap stocks.
As of 9:50 a.m., the Sensex had declined by 510 points, or 0.64%, to 79,538, while the Nifty had decreased by 88 points, or 0.36%, to 24,214.
Broader markets, however, exhibited an upward trend. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,213 shares were advancing, whereas 1,001 shares were declining.
Purchases were notably observed in small-cap and mid-cap stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 Index rose by 60 points, or 0.11%, to 56,679, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 Index increased by 47 points, or 0.25%, to 18,840.
Among the Sensex components, the top gainers included Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), Larsen & Toubro (L&T), JSW Steel, Wipro, Sun Pharma, NTPC, and the State Bank of India (SBI). In contrast, the major losers were HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Tata Steel, Titan, Power Grid, and Bajaj Finance.
Banking stocks significantly contributed to the market decline, with the Nifty Bank Index falling by over 700 points.
Deven Mehata, a Research Analyst at Choice Broking, stated, “Nifty could find support at 24,200, followed by 24,100 and 24,000. On the higher side, 24,400 may serve as immediate resistance, followed by 24,450 and 24,500.”
Mixed trading was observed in Asian markets. Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were trading lower, while Jakarta, Bangkok, and Seoul were trading higher. The US markets remained closed on Wednesday.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their buying spree, purchasing equities worth ₹2,575 crore on July 4. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) extended their selling activities, offloading equities worth ₹2,375 crore.
