opened the week on a subdued note, slipping from Friday’s record highs despite strong Asian market performance and optimistic analyst outlooks.
The benchmark , which closed at ₹85,762.01 on Friday, opened at ₹85,640.05 and declined further to ₹85,585.66, down 176.35 points or 0.21 per cent by 9.45 AM. The , after closing at a record 26,328.55, opened marginally higher at 26,333.70 but slipped to 26,283.30, shedding 45.25 points or 0.17 per cent.
The morning weakness was primarily driven by sharp declines in IT stocks, which bucked the broader positive global trend. Infosys led the losers, plunging 3.07 per cent to ₹1,590.10, followed by HCL Technologies down 2.74 per cent at ₹1,595.30, Wipro falling 2.19 per cent to ₹263.10, and Tech Mahindra declining 1.66 per cent to ₹1,585.20. Eicher Motors also featured among laggards, dropping 1.41 per cent to ₹280.15.
On the gainers’ front, defence stock BEL surged 2.85 per cent to ₹414.65, while Axis Bank advanced 1.30 per cent to ₹1,283.40. Tata Steel gained 1.18 per cent to ₹185.03, Nestle India rose 1.16 per cent to ₹1,294.50, and Asian Paints climbed 1.09 per cent to ₹2,802.70. The selective gains indicated continued investor interest in metals, banking, and defensive consumer stocks despite broader market weakness.
“Indian Markets look set to surge to record levels in the new year’s first full trading week,” said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities. “Nifty has decisively breached previous swing-high resistance levels at 26,236 and 26,325, confirming a decisive breakout from its prior consolidation range.”
The opening weakness came despite Asian markets posting strong gains, with the KOSPI and Nikkei surging over 2 per cent driven by renewed optimism around artificial intelligence and technology-led buying. Market experts attributed the divergence to profit-booking at elevated levels after last week’s rally, which saw the Nifty gain 1.12 per cent and the Sensex climb 700 points.
“The year 2026 has begun with major geopolitical developments which can have profound consequences,” noted Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited. “The US action in Venezuela has the potential to further destabilise global geopolitics. The huge uncertainty and unpredictability of geopolitics will influence the market, too.”
Foreign Portfolio Investors turned net buyers on January 2 after eight consecutive sessions of selling, purchasing equities worth ₹289 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors bought equities worth ₹677 crore on the same day, providing underlying support to the market.
“Market sentiment remains cautiously optimistic, supported by improving domestic technical indicators,” said Amruta Shinde, Technical & Derivative analyst, Choice Broking. “However, overall direction will continue to be influenced by global equity cues, movements in crude oil prices, and institutional fund flows.”
Bank Nifty demonstrated resilience, having closed at a record 60,151 on Friday after hitting an intraday high of 60,203. Analysts expected the banking index to hold above the 59,800-60,000 zone with potential to extend gains toward 61,000-62,000 supported by strong credit growth and anticipated robust Q3 results from the banking and financials segment.
Technical analysts maintained a constructive outlook despite the morning weakness. “For trend-following traders, 26,250/85,500 and 26,100/85,000 would act as key support zones,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities. “As long as the market is trading above these levels, the bullish momentum is likely to continue.”