Indian stock markets opened lower on Friday, with the Sensex falling nearly 300 points and the Nifty50 hovering above 25,800. Investors remained cautious ahead of the Bihar Assembly election results and as hopes of an early US interest rate cut weakened.
Around 9:23 am, the Sensex slipped 255 points to 84,223, while the Nifty50 declined 81 points to 25,798. Broader markets showed mixed trends, with midcap and smallcap segments failing to follow a clear direction. Asian Paints was a bright spot, rising 3% during early trading.
Koustav Das of New Delhi reported that markets lacked strong global or domestic triggers, leading to a tentative start. Investors are preparing for several key events in the coming sessions, including corporate earnings announcements and macroeconomic updates.
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said the Bihar election results would influence market sentiment temporarily. “The market will react to the Bihar verdict, but only for a short period. Long-term trends are still driven by fundamentals like earnings growth and GDP expansion,” he explained.
Vijayakumar also noted that India’s market underperformance compared to global peers this year is unlikely to continue. “Although Nifty has lagged this year, it remains one of the best-performing indices over the last five years. Current weakness is due to FY25 earnings dips and high valuations, but the outlook is positive,” he added.
On the technical side, Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit, observed that the Nifty briefly crossed 25,980 before turning lower, reflecting cautious sentiment. However, he said the broader uptrend remains intact, with targets between 26,130 and 26,550. He cautioned that downside support could come near 25,789.
Overall, the market opened in a cautious mood, waiting for election results and global cues. Analysts suggest that medium- to long-term investors focus on earnings growth and macroeconomic fundamentals rather than short-term election-driven fluctuations.
In early trading, while some stocks like Asian Paints showed strength, most indices were under pressure, reflecting a mix of anticipation, caution, and selective buying by investors.
