Mumbai: Amidst heavy selling in global equities, the Indian stock market opened with a slight gain on Friday. Investors appeared cautious due to a sharp decline in US technology stocks and weakness in Asian markets.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 opened with a slight gain of 1.60 points, or 0.01 percent, at 24,538.20 on Friday. Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex rose 103.65 points, or 0.13 percent, to 79,413.66.
However, broader market indices declined. The Nifty 100 fell 0.11 percent, the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 0.87 percent, and the Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.54 percent. This indicated that not all market segments participated in the initial rally.
Foreign investor buying could support the Indian market
VK Vijaykumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said that the sharp decline in the US markets could impact stock markets worldwide, but its impact on India is likely to be relatively minimal.
He said that fears of a slowdown in data center investment were a major reason behind the Nasdaq’s 5.6% decline in the US markets. Opposition from Democrats to large-scale data center investment also posed a concern. He believes that the decline in technology stocks and the slowdown in AI-related businesses could prove beneficial for the Indian market.
Vijayakumar said that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have purchased shares worth ₹35,781 crore in the Indian stock market in the last five trading sessions. Despite selling and profit-booking by domestic institutional investors (DIIs), continued buying by foreign investors could maintain market strength.
US markets saw their biggest drop since April 2025
US stock markets witnessed a massive sell-off on Thursday. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded their worst trading sessions since April 2025.
The Nasdaq fell 5.52 percent to close at 24,315.00, more than 10 percent below its record high set last month and entering the correction zone.
The S&P 500 fell 4.36 percent to close at 7,353.73. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,833.06 points, or 3.44 percent, to 51,523.06. This decline erased all gains from Wednesday’s post-election rally.
IT and banking stocks declined, while the auto sector saw a slight rise
NSE’s sectoral indices also showed a mixed trend. Nifty Auto recorded a slight gain of 0.10 percent, while Nifty IT fell 1.32 percent.
Furthermore, Nifty Private Bank declined 0.42 percent, Nifty FMCG 0.59 percent, Nifty Metal 0.87 percent, and Nifty Pharma 0.34 percent. Nifty PSU Bank also traded down 0.75 percent.
Crude oil prices crossed $100, gold and silver also slipped
Brent crude prices saw another rise in the international market. It recorded a rise of 2.37 percent and at the time of writing this report, the price had again crossed $100 per barrel.
On the other hand, gold and silver prices declined. The price of 24-carat gold fell 1.32 percent to ₹1,42,192 per 10 grams. Silver prices fell 1.78 percent to ₹1,83,800 per kilogram.
Heavy selling in Asian markets as well
The weakness in global markets was reflected in Asian stock markets as well. South Korea’s KOSPI index fell more than 7 percent to 5,035. Taiwan’s weighted index fell 8 percent to trade at 38,300.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 5.95 percent to 57,445. Singapore’s Straits Times index was trading at 5,180, down 2.20 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also traded lower in early trade.
Besides, Dow Jones futures fell 0.59 per cent, reflecting weak investor sentiment in global markets.