The country's stock market witnessed another decline in the week's final trading session. Both benchmark indices opened at lower points compared to Thursday's closing. The Sensex fell by nearly 500 points, and Nifty50 dropped below 24,650 points.

At 9:40 AM, the Sensex stands at 79,708 points, which is 307 points or 0.38 per cent lower than the last closing. Nifty50 is at 24,671 points, which is 94 points or 0.38 per cent lower than the last closing.

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Mixed performance was observed among various sectoral indices in Friday's early trade. Sectoral indices like Nifty India Defence, IT, and Energy showed significant gains. Small-cap and mid-cap indices have also remained positive since morning. However, important sectoral indices like Bank, Auto, Financial Services, Realty, Metal, and Tourism in Nifty have been in the red since morning.

Among the stocks listed in the Nifty50 index, Bharat Electronics, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Wipro, and HCL Tech have gained the most. IT stocks like Infosys, TCS, and Tech Mahindra are also on the growth path.

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But shares of companies like InterGlobe Aviation, ICICI Bank, L&T, Max Healthcare, and HDFC Bank have declined the most on Friday.

The Indian rupee opened almost flat on this day. The exchange rate of the rupee against the US dollar stands at 91.64. However, taking advantage of the dollar's weakness, gold and silver prices increased this morning. Gold prices rose by nearly 1 per cent on the country's multi-commodity exchange, and silver prices increased by 2.4 per cent.

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