Indian equity indices were muted at the opening bell on Friday
Indian Stock Market Trades in Red, IT Sector Gains Amid Broader Losses
Benchmark Indian equity indices were trading on a muted and volatile note on Friday. At 11 AM, the BSE Sensex was lower by 55 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 79,486, while the Nifty 50 was at 24,167, down 31.5 points, or 0.13 per cent.
After a muted open, only five stocks, including Infosys (up 1.20 per cent), followed by Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, and HCLTech, out of the 30 on the BSE Sensex were trading in the green.
Losses on the index were led by Reliance Industries (down 1.66 per cent), followed by Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, and NTPC.
On the Nifty 50, only nine out of the 50 stocks were trading in the green. Gains were led by Infosys (up 1.27 per cent), followed by Apollo Hospital Enterprises, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and Hindalco Industries, while losses were capped by BPCL (down 2.32 per cent), followed by Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, Coal India, and Maruti Suzuki India.
Across sectors, the IT index was the top gainer, climbing over 1 per cent, followed by the Metal, Pharma, Health and Consumer Durables indices. All the other sectoral indices were trading with losses, with the OMC index dragging the most, falling 1.07 per cent.
The Nifty Bank and Financial Services indices were down 0.19 per cent and 0.09 per cent, respectively.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap 100 was down 0.13 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 was down 0.37 per cent.
Market View | Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services
Global markets, led by the US, show strength, driven by Trump’s policies and tax cuts, while Indian markets face weakness due to FII selling. Investors may consider shifting funds from overvalued mid and smallcaps to quality largecaps for long-term gains.
Cues from Around the World
Asia-Pacific markets, meanwhile, climbed on Friday, following the US Fed’s action.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.3 per cent, while the broad-based Topix rose 0.1 per cent.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.7 per cent, and the small-cap Kosdaq gained 1.5 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 1 per cent, while mainland China’s CSI 300 saw a gain of 1.01 per cent. The Shanghai Composite was ahead by 0.6 per cent.
Global Stock Markets Reach Record Highs, Driven by Wall Street Gains and Fed’s Rate Cut
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9 per cent.
That apart, shares on Wall Street scaled record highs on Thursday, lifting stock markets around the world, while US Treasury yields retreated further after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and as investors processed a second Donald Trump presidency.
The S&P 500 rose 0.74 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.5 per cent. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both ended at all-time highs for a second consecutive day.
The MSCI index for world stocks climbed 0.9 per cent, also to a record high.
Europe’s broad STOXX 600 index rose 0.6 per cent after Asian shares gained earlier in the day, with even onshore Chinese blue chips rising 3 per cent as investor optimism over potential stimulus outweighed concerns about worsening trade tensions.
