The Indian benchmark indices were trading marginally lower at 85,187.35 falling 77 points, and the Nifty was trading at 26,014.75 declining 57 points.
Shortly after opening, the indices started trading in green, as the Sensex was trading above 85,200, rising 32 points, and Nifty gained more than 19 points to trade at 26,053.40.
In the 30-share BSE Sensex, among the top gainers were stocks such as Eternal, Infosys, Maruti, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Bank. Meanwhile, the laggards included stocks like Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Trent, Adani Ports and NTPC.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Smallcap 50 fell 0.61 per cent and the Nifty Midcap 50 rose 0.06 per cent. Sectorally, the Nifty IT index gained 0.39 per cent and Nifty Media fell 0.49 per cent.
In the pre-open session, at 9:02 AM, the Sensex was trading at 85,056.58, falling more than 208, and the Nifty tested 26,000 falling 47 points at 9:21 AM.
Gift Nifty was trading at 26,189.50, rising above 8 points at 8:47 AM.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,944.19 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 3,661.05 crore, according to exchange data.
Investors largely stayed on the sidelines as persistent foreign fund outflows and uneven global cues continued to dampen sentiment.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Shanghai's SSE Composite index traded in positive territory while Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index quoted lower. The US markets also ended on a flat note on Thursday.
The Nifty slipped below the 26,000 mark, extending its losing streak to a fourth straight session, as market sentiment tilted firmly towards the bears. Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice-President (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, said persistent FII selling and the rupee’s weakness are keeping investors cautious. He noted that the forthcoming policy decisions from both the Reserve Bank of India and the US Federal Reserve, alongside ongoing geopolitical tensions, may add fresh layers of volatility.
More important than the rate action, which is very tricky in the context of low inflation, high growth and depreciating rupee, the market will be keen to know what the governor says about the emerging macro trends. RBI’s action on the liquidity front will be keenly watched, VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist of Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Domestic markets began Friday’s trade on a guarded note as participants await the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra will announce the December policy outcome in the morning, followed by a press conference at noon, both of which will be streamed on the central bank’s official channels.
