The domestic benchmark indices opened lower on Friday amid mixed global cues, with selling pressure seen in the IT, financial services, and pharma sectors during early trade.
At around 9:29 a.m., the Sensex was trading 231.64 points, or 0.28 per cent, lower at 82,299.10, while the Nifty declined 49.95 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 25,012.15.
The Nifty Bank index was down 52.40 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 55,303.20. Meanwhile, the Nifty Midcap 100 was trading at 56,700.05, up 169.20 points, or 0.30 per cent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index stood at 17,318.40, having risen 78.45 points, or 0.46 per cent.
According to analysts, from a technical perspective, the Nifty formed a strong bullish candle on the daily chart, breaking out of an inside bar pattern and closing above the crucial 25,000 level.
Traders are advised to adopt a “buy on dips” strategy with strict risk management and avoid taking large overnight positions due to ongoing global uncertainties, he added.
Among the Sensex constituents, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, SBI, Infosys, HCL Tech, and M\&M were the top losers. On the other hand, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, and Axis Bank emerged as the top gainers.
In the broader Asian markets, China, Hong Kong, and Japan were trading in the red, whereas Bangkok, Jakarta, and Seoul were in the green.
In the previous trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the U.S. closed at 42,322.75, up 271.69 points, or 0.65 per cent. The S\&P 500 ended with a gain of 24.35 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 5,916.93, while the Nasdaq closed at 19,112.32, down 34.49 points, or 0.18 per cent.
April’s economic data presented a mixed picture of the U.S. economy. The Producer Price Index (PPI) unexpectedly declined by 0.5 per cent, significantly diverging from economists’ expectations of a 0.2 per cent increase. This drop suggests easing inflationary pressures at the wholesale level, according to experts.
On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of equities worth ₹5,392.94 crore on May 15, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities worth ₹1,668.47 crore.
—IANS