Mumbai: The Indian benchmark indices opened with mild losses on Friday due to sustained Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) selling, despite positive global cues and market optimism driven by the Reserve Bank of India’s dovish pause.

As of 9:20 am, the Sensex was down 191 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 80,792, while the Nifty declined 56 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 24,780. The broader indices, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100, inched up by 0.22 and 0.14 per cent respectively.

Among the major gainers on the Nifty pack were Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors, and Asian Paints. On the other hand, Max Healthcare, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, and ICICI Bank were among the top losers.

Sectorally, Nifty Metal emerged as the top gainer, advancing 0.89 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Pharma also performed well, gaining 0.59 per cent and 0.30 per cent respectively. Conversely, Nifty Media and Nifty FMCG were the top losers, down 0.65 per cent and 0.45 per cent, respectively.

Analysts noted that from a technical standpoint, a sustained move above 24,900 could pave the way for a rally toward 25,000 and 25,150. Immediate support levels are placed at 24,750 and 24,600, which may act as potential entry points for long trades.

Overnight, US markets ended in the green zone, with Nasdaq edging up 0.39 per cent, the S&P 500 adding 0.06 per cent, and the Dow rising 0.17 per cent.

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Friday, tracking Wall Street gains as investors shrugged off concerns over the US government shutdown. Investors remain cautious, awaiting clarity on the duration and economic impact of the shutdown.

In the region, China’s Shanghai index added 0.52 per cent, and Shenzhen advanced 0.35 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.44 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.70 per cent. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.84 per cent.

Analysts further said that the central bank’s bold initiatives to boost credit growth in the economy can help sustain market momentum, particularly in Bank Nifty. However, ongoing selling by FIIs is likely to temper this rally. FIIs may accelerate their selling, given current market conditions that provide them the opportunity to sell aggressively.

Robust buying by Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) can offer some support, especially in large-cap auto stocks, which currently have strong fundamental backing, experts added.

In the last trading session on Wednesday, FIIs sold equities worth ₹1,605 crore, while DIIs were net buyers to the tune of ₹2,916 crore.

*Disclaimer: This story is from a syndicated feed. No changes have been made except to the headline.*
https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/sensex-nifty-fall-despite-positive-global-cues-market-optimism