Indian equity markets opened on a subdued note on Friday, extending Thursday’s sharp losses. At 9:26 a.m., the BSE Sensex was down 154 points or 0.19% at 82,343, while the Nifty 50 fell 31 points or 0.12% to 25,423. Investor sentiment remained cautious after the previous session’s heavy sell-off, which wiped out nearly Rs 6.79 lakh crore in market capitalisation.
IT leads losses, broader indices show mixed trend
In the broader market, performance was mixed. The Nifty Midcap 100 edged down 0.13%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 0.13%.
Among sectoral indices, most traded marginally higher, but IT stocks continued to face strong selling pressure. The Nifty IT index dropped 1.07%, emerging as the biggest laggard. The media index declined 0.41%. Pharma and realty shares slipped 0.04% and 0.12%, respectively. On the positive side, PSU bank stocks rose 0.58%, leading the gains.
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Global tensions, FII selling weigh on sentiment
Market experts said immediate support for the Nifty is seen between 25,400 and 25,300, while resistance is placed around 25,675. For Bank Nifty, support lies between 60,500 and 60,300, with 61,000 acting as immediate resistance.
Thursday’s 1.41% decline had erased recent gains, with selling pressure visible across banking, auto, FMCG, metals and aviation stocks. Analysts attributed the weakness to rising US-Iran tensions and the US Federal Reserve’s firm stance, which have unsettled global markets. India VIX, a measure of market volatility, surged over 10% to 13.46.
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Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 881 crore on February 19, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded Rs 596 crore in equities.
Global cues remained weak. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.57%, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.44%. In the US, the Nasdaq dropped 0.31%, the S&P 500 fell 0.28%, and the Dow Jones slipped 0.54%.
Experts expect markets to remain range-bound with a slight downward bias until volatility eases or fresh positive triggers emerge.
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