Stock Market Today: Sensex Falls 332 Points, Nifty Slips As Crude Prices Weigh

Indian equity markets began Friday’s session with losses as investors remained cautious amid pressure from crude oil prices and continued selling by foreign investors.

The Sensex touched 77,747 during morning trading, registering a decline of 332 points, or 0.42 per cent. The Nifty also moved lower, falling 84.39 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 24,311.45.

The Nifty Metal index recorded the sharpest decline among sectoral indices, dropping more than 1 per cent during early trade. Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom, Nifty Auto, Nifty IT and Nifty Cement also remained under pressure.

The Nifty Consumer Durables index gained 0.29 per cent, emerging as one of the few sectors to trade higher.

Market experts believe the Nifty could remain confined to a defined range in the short term as investors await a fresh trigger.

According to analysts, the index has been moving between 23,800 and 24,400. It has neither broken above the upper boundary nor fallen below the lower level.

Experts identified selected private-sector banking stocks as potential long-term investment opportunities.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained sellers in the previous session, withdrawing ₹510 crore from Indian equities on Thursday. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), meanwhile, helped cushion the selling pressure by investing ₹4,353 crore in the market.

Analysts observed that foreign portfolio selling had eased in recent sessions and that overseas investors had occasionally returned as buyers. They said the broader direction of foreign investor flows remained uncertain.

Mid-cap and small-cap stocks continued to attract significant market activity, with analysts expecting investor interest in these segments to remain firm.

Oil prices continued to influence investor sentiment after Brent crude briefly climbed above $91 per barrel before retreating below $87.

Brent crude was trading around $87.08 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude edged up 0.16 per cent to $81.38 per barrel.

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