Stock Markets Open Lower, Sensex Opens Trade At 82,825, Nifty Starts At 25,378
In the pre-open session, at around 9:03 AM, the Sensex tested 83,100, falling more than 227 points and the Nifty traded over 25,400 declining nearly 100 points.
The Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Friday at 9:15 AM as the Sensex fell over 480 points to start trading at 82,825.17, while the Nifty declined more than 130 points to ring the opening bell at 25,378.70.
Among the top gainers on the 30-share BSE Sensex, there were stocks such as Eternal, Sun Pharmaceuticals, ICICI Bank, ITC and Trent. Meanwhile, the laggards included stocks like Ultra Cement, Bharat Electronics, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finserv and Asian Paints.
In the broader 50-share NSE Nifty50, the Nifty Smallcap 50 declined 1.10 per cent due to high volatility in the markets. Sectorally, the Nifty Midsmall IT & Telecom index fell 1.46 per cent.
In the pre-open session, at around 9:03 AM, the Sensex tested 83,100, falling more than 227 points and the Nifty traded over 25,400 declining nearly 100 points.
The Gift Nifty was trading at 25,492, down by more than 47 points at 8:53 AM.
Volatility Grips Indian Markets Amid Broad-Based Profit-Booking
Domestic equities witnessed heightened volatility on Thursday as widespread profit-booking continued, even as most Asian markets traded on a positive note. Persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows weighed on investor sentiment, erasing early gains driven by strong US macroeconomic data and the inclusion of four Indian companies in the MSCI Global Standard Index.
Additionally, this session also marks the third consecutive session of losses for the Indian markets and the decline is backed by weak global cues.
FIIs Continue Heavy Selling, Market Drifts Despite DII Buying
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,263.21 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net buyers, picking up stocks worth Rs 5,283.91 crore.
However, despite the strong DII buying, the market continued its downward drift, highlighting the dominance of FII activity in shaping trends.
Shorting Pressure Overrides Domestic Buying
A notable feature of the current market trend is the sustained shorting by FIIs. Even though DIIs are buying substantially more than what FIIs are selling, Rs 5,283 crore DII purchases versus Rs 3,263 crore FII sales, the markets remain under pressure.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, explained, “The huge shorting by FIIs is overpowering the DII and investor buying in the market. The success of the FII strategy of sustained selling in India and moving money to cheaper markets has emboldened them to continue the strategy and continue shorting the market.”
No Immediate Triggers For Reversal
While short covering could eventually lead to a market rebound, Vijayakumar noted that there are no immediate triggers visible to reverse the current trend. “But markets have an uncanny ability to surprise,” V K Vijayakumar added.
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