Benchmark indices opened on a mixed note Friday morning, with selective buying in IT and insurance stocks offsetting weakness in banking and infrastructure counters. The Sensex opened at 79,830.15, marginally up from the previous close of 79,801.43, but is currently trading at 79,702.65, down 98.78 points or 0.12 per cent. The Nifty slipped 32.85 points or 0.14 per cent to 24,213.85 at 9.45 am after opening at 24,289.00, compared to its previous close of 24,246.70.
The cautious start follows a seven-day winning streak that ended yesterday amid rising geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack. India has responded by suspending the Indus Water Treaty and downgrading diplomatic ties with Pakistan.
“After an impressive seven-day winning streak, the Nifty experienced a downturn on the monthly derivative expiry session, falling 82 points (0.34 per cent) to close at 24246, while remaining within the previous day’s trading range,” said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities.
Insurance stocks led the gainers, with SBI Life surging 5.26 per cent to ₹1,692.80. IT majors showed strength with TCS rising 1.42 per cent and Infosys gaining 1.03 per cent. HDFC Life advanced 0.88 per cent, while Reliance Industries ticked up 0.71 per cent.
On the losing side, Axis Bank dropped 3.49 per cent despite beating quarterly profit estimates. Adani Ports declined 1.92 per cent, followed by Bharat Electronics Limited at 1.70 per cent. Bajaj Finance and Adani Enterprises fell 1.69 per cent and 1.54 per cent respectively.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their buying streak, purchasing equities worth ₹8,250 crore on April 24, marking their seventh consecutive session of net buying—their longest streak since December 2023. During this period, FIIs have injected nearly ₹30,000 crore into Indian markets.
“FPI’s long to short ratio is highest since 13-Dec 2024, indicates that FPIs have started covering their shorts in the April series,” noted Vakil.
The market sentiment is bolstered by strong global cues, with US markets closing higher for the third consecutive day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 486.83 points (1.23 per cent), the S&P 500 gained 108.91 points (2.03 per cent), and the Nasdaq Composite surged 457.99 points (2.74 per cent).
“US stocks closed higher on Thursday, rallying for a third straight day with a solid boost from technology shares. Investors parsed strong corporate earnings and watched for signs of progress in the US-China tariff stand-off,” Vakil explained.
Technically, the market structure remains bullish but faces immediate resistance. “We believe the short-term market structure is bullish, but a fresh uptrend is possible only after the dismissal of the 24400/80300 resistance zone,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.
As the April series ended yesterday, the May series begins with record-high open interest. “In the Stock futures segment, we are starting the May series with an all-time high open interest of 1150 crore shares, as against 1145 crore shares at the beginning of the April series,” Vakil noted.
In commodities, gold prices extended gains above $3,350 per ounce, heading for a third consecutive weekly advance. “Gold prices shows strong pullback on Thursday after Wednesday’s sharp sell-off. The metal’s safety appeal was bolstered by skepticism over the progress of US-China trade talks,” said Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities Ltd.
Crude oil prices have rebounded amid US-China trade talk hopes and lower-than-expected increase in US crude oil inventories. Brent crude traded higher at nearly $67 per barrel.
“The market is expected to open on a strong note, driven by a global rally, continued buying interest from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), and optimism surrounding a potential India-US trade deal after the US Treasury Secretary said that India can be first to sign a trade deal,” said Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities.
Corporate earnings have shown mixed results, with Tech Mahindra reporting a 77 per cent rise in net profit and Axis Bank beating estimates despite a slight dip. Meanwhile, Hindustan Unilever and Nestle posted weaker-than-expected results.
Investors are now watching for results from heavyweight companies including Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki, Cholamandalam Investment, Shriram Finance, and L&T Finance, which are scheduled to announce their quarterly numbers today.