As the week wrapped up, Indian equities opened in negative territory on Friday, pressured by subdued global signals. The benchmark Sensex tumbled 364.85 points or 0.44% to 81,883.76 shortly after a tepid start at 82,220.48. Nifty wasn’t spared either, slipping 119.05 points or 0.47% to 25,377.50 from an opening of 25,459.85.
Sectoral performance painted a grim picture, with every Nifty index except IT in the red. Nifty IT surged 0.81%, standing out as the sole gainer. Heavyweights like Nifty Auto (-0.84%), FMCG (-0.99%), and Bank (-0.53%) dragged the market lower. Midcap and smallcap indices followed suit, down 0.41% and 0.51% respectively.
Sensex’s 30 stocks showed clear winners and losers. IT names continued their rally for the third day: Infosys, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Eternal, HCL Tech, and TCS emerged as top performers. Conversely, Maruti Suzuki, HUL, Ultratech Cement, M&M, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Asian Paints, and Kotak Bank saw the biggest drops, reflecting profit-taking in defensives.
Choice Broking’s Akash Shah dissected yesterday’s action: Nifty’s 83-point gap-up hit 25,572.95 intraday but reversed sharply by 170 points to 25,400, closing up just 14 points at 25,496.55. Resistance looms at 25,600-25,650, support at 25,300-25,350, with RSI neutral at 47.11. FIIs offloaded Rs 3,465 crore, countered by DIIs’ Rs 5,000+ crore buying spree.
Shah advises caution amid volatility: Stick to robust fundamentals on pullbacks. Long positions make sense only post a sustained Nifty break above 25,800, confirming upward momentum and structural positivity.