Indian equity markets opened the final trading session of the week in negative territory on Friday, continuing losses from the previous session.
At 9:26 AM, the Sensex dropped 154 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 82,343, while Nifty declined 31 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 25,423.
Broad-cap indices moved divergently. The Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.13 per cent, whereas the Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced 0.13 per cent.
Most sectoral indices traded higher, except for Nifty IT, which fell 1.07 per cent, and media, down 0.41 per cent.
Pharma and realty dipped marginally by 0.04 per cent and 0.12 per cent, respectively.
PSU banks gained 0.58 per cent, leading sectoral performance, while metals also recorded positive momentum.
Market analysts identified immediate Nifty support at the 25,400–25,300 zone, with resistance around 25,675.
Bank Nifty support was placed at 60,500–60,300, with 61,000 acting as resistance.
The previous session saw a sharp 1.41 per cent correction, wiping out nearly ₹6.79 lakh crore in market capitalisation.
Investors sold shares broadly in banking, auto, FMCG, metals, and aviation sectors.
The selling was driven by rising US-Iran geopolitical tensions and a hawkish US Federal Reserve.
The India VIX rose sharply to 13.46, up over 10 per cent, indicating increased volatility.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold equities worth ₹881 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also turned net sellers of ₹596 crore.
Despite resilient macro fundamentals, near-term sentiment remains fragile and risk-averse.
Market participants expect trading to remain range-bound with a slight downside bias until volatility moderates or fresh positive triggers emerge.
Global markets reflected mixed trends. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.57 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.44 per cent.
The US indices closed lower overnight. The Nasdaq fell 0.31 per cent, the S&P 500 dropped 0.28 per cent, and the Dow Jones lost 0.54 per cent.
Markets in China remain closed until February 23 for the Lunar New Year, adding to limited regional trading activity.
Also Read: Nifty, Sensex End Higher Led By Metals; PSU Bank Stocks
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