Benchmark indices opened on a subdued note on Friday, with the Sensex falling 222.62 points or 0.26 per cent to 84,256.05 and the Nifty declining 67.90 points or 0.26 per cent to 25,811.25 in early trade. The Sensex had closed at 84,478.67 on Thursday and opened today at 84,060.14, while the Nifty closed at 25,879.15 and opened at 25,767.90.
The morning weakness came as investors remained cautious following mixed commentary from U.S. Federal Reserve officials on the pace and timing of future rate cuts, which triggered a sharp overnight sell-off in American equities. Market participants are also closely watching the Bihar assembly election results, with analysts suggesting that a verdict in line with exit poll predictions could support investor confidence.
“Indian markets opened on a subdued note, tracking weakness in global equities, as mixed commentary from US Federal Reserve officials on the pace and timing of future rate cuts kept investors cautious and prompted selective profit booking,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, a SEBI registered online trading and wealth tech firm.
The IT sector emerged as the biggest drag in early trade, with Infosys leading the losers on the Nifty 50, declining 2.35 per cent to ₹1,505.60. The selloff in AI and technology stocks in the U.S. spilled over to domestic sentiment, putting significant pressure on IT counters. “The sharp sell-off in AI and technology stocks in the US also spilled over to domestic sentiment, putting significant pressure on IT counters,” Ponmudi added.
Among other major losers, Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles fell 1.67 per cent to ₹315.40, Eicher Motors declined 1.26 per cent to ₹6,768.50, Tata Steel dropped 1.17 per cent to ₹174.59, and JSW Steel slipped 1.02 per cent to ₹1,171.80.
On the gainers’ side, ONGC led the pack with a 1.49 per cent rise to ₹248.50, followed by Adani Ports which gained 1.00 per cent to ₹1,514.00. Adani Enterprises rose 0.82 per cent to ₹2,508.50, Eterna gained 0.81 per cent to ₹300.15, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories advanced 0.62 per cent to ₹1,242.60.
“The market will be focused on the Bihar election outcome today. But the market reaction to the election results will be only temporary, whatever the results might be,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited. “The medium to long-term trend of the market will be dictated by fundamentals, particularly the earnings growth.”
On the institutional front, Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth ₹383 crore on November 13, while Domestic Institutional Investors continued their strong buying trend, purchasing over ₹3,000 crore worth of equities, helping cushion broader market weakness.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, noted that “the short-term outlook remains positive” despite profit-booking at higher levels. “For traders, the support exists at 25,750-25700/84200-84000 would act as a crucial support zone,” he said.
Technical analysts highlighted that the Nifty continues to face resistance in the 25,900-26,000 zone, while Bank Nifty found support around 58,150. Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, remained optimistic about near-term prospects. “The path towards 26,000 remains open,” he said, citing softer CPI inflation and improving prospects of a US-India trade pact.
Amruta Shinde, Technical & Derivative analyst at Choice Broking, advised caution. “Given the ongoing volatility and uncertain global backdrop, traders are advised to maintain a cautious buy-on-dips approach, especially when using leverage,” she said.