After opening in the green, Indian equity markets erased their early gains to trade in the red on Friday amid continued uncertainty over tensions in the Middle East.
At 9:27 am, the Sensex fell 50 points to trade below the 77,500 mark, while the Nifty 50 slipped below 24,250. Broader markets, however, remained in positive territory, with the Nifty Midcap 100 posting marginal gains and the Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.6%.
Eternal, Sun Pharma and Kotak Mahindra Bank shares gained around 1% each to lead gains on Sensex, while Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and TCS shares recorded marginal losses to lead the counters in the red.
All major sectoral indices opened in the green, with Nifty Metal rising half a percent. The overall market breadth remained positive, with NSE seeing 1,457 advances against 1,009 declines, while 161 stocks remained unchanged.
What lies ahead for Dalal Street?
While the market opened in the green, yesterday’s sharp rally is unlikely to sustain, given the latest headwinds from Brent crude approaching $94 and US bond yields again climbing up, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. “Nifty may come under pressure from profit booking in some large-caps. The weakness in large-caps is likely to sustain, constraining a sustained rally in the market. However, the momentum in the broader market will continue backed by institutional-DIIs and FIIs- buying and improving fundamentals,” he said, adding that even though large-cap banking stocks are under pressure, NBFCs are on a strong wicket backed by strong fundamentals and technicals.
“The digital platform space is exhibiting strength backed by delivery-based buying and accumulation. Pharma and CDMO stocks continue to find buyers, despite elevated valuations. The rangebound market construct will continue so long as crude prices remains elevated,” according to the analyst.
Nifty formed a bullish Doji after seven consecutive sessions of decline, signalling waning selling pressure and supporting the ongoing pullback, said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments. He added that the index moved towards 24,260 as expected, and the recovery could extend towards 24,317-24,380, followed by 24,400-24,545 in the near term.
“Meanwhile, Nifty VIX slipped below 11, marking its lowest close since January 2026, reflecting easing volatility and improving risk appetite. The bias remains positive as long as the 24,060-24,000 support zone is defended,” the analyst further said.
