Sensex, Nifty open lower over sustained FII selling

MUMBAI — The Indian benchmark indices opened with mild losses on Friday due to sustained FII selling, despite positive global cues and market optimism driven by the Reserve Bank of India’s dovish pause.

As of 9.20 am, the Sensex was down 191 points, or 0.24 per cent at 80,792 and the Nifty declined 56 points, or 0.23 per cent at 24,780.

The broad cap indices, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100, inched up 0.22 and 0.14 per cent respectively. Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors and Asian Paints were among major gainers on the Nifty pack, while losers included Max Healthcare, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance and ICICI Bank, among others.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal, the top gainer, advanced 0.89 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank (up 0.59 per cent) and Nifty Pharma (up 0.30 per cent) were other major gainers. Nifty Media and Nifty FMCG were the top losers down 0.65 per cent and 0.45 per cent respectively.

Analysts said that from a technical perspective, a sustained move above 24,900 could pave the way for a rally toward 25,000 and 25,150. The immediate support is placed at 24,750 and 24,600, which may act as potential entry points for long trades.

The US markets ended in the green zone overnight, as Nasdaq edged up 0.39 per cent, the S&P 500 added 0.06 per cent, and the Dow moved up 0.17 per cent in the last trading session.

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Friday, tracking Wall Street gains as investors shrugged off the US government shutdown. Investors are waiting to see how long the shutdown will last to assess the gravity of its economic repercussions.

While China's Shanghai index added 0.52 per cent, and Shenzhen advanced 0.35 per cent, Japan's Nikkei added 1.44 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.84 per cent. South Korea's Kospi added 2.70 per cent.

Analysts said that the central bank's bold initiatives to boost credit growth in the economy can positively sustain the momentum in the market, particularly in Bank Nifty. However, the sustained selling by FIIs in the market is unlikely to sustain this momentum.