Mumbai: Indian stock markets opened lower on Friday amid reports that the United States may initiate a fresh investigation into China’s compliance with their 2020 trade agreement.
Rising crude oil prices—driven by new US sanctions on Russia—also dampened investor sentiment.
At the opening bell, the Sensex slipped 113 points (0.13%) to 84,443, while the Nifty declined 27 points (0.10%) to 25,866.
Analysts noted that the Nifty maintained a sideways-to-bullish bias, staying comfortably above key support levels at 25,700–25,750.
“Immediate resistance lies near 25,950, with potential upside targets at 26,000 and 26,100. The broader trend remains positive as long as the index holds above 25,780 on a closing basis,” they said.
Among major laggards were Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Titan, Power Grid, ITC, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, and Maruti Suzuki, which fell up to 3.5%.
In contrast, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, BEL, M&M, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, and SBI traded in the green, cushioning overall losses.
In the broader market, sentiment stayed firm—Nifty MidCap edged up 0.05%, while Nifty SmallCap added 0.09%.
Sectorally, metal stocks led the gains, with the Nifty Metal index climbing 1%, followed by modest upticks in Realty and Financial Services.
However, FMCG counters remained under pressure, dragging the Nifty FMCG index down 1.4%, making it the worst-performing sector of the session.
Amid heightened volatility and mixed cues, analysts advised traders to maintain a cautious “buy-on-dips” strategy and to manage risk by booking partial profits during rallies and using tight trailing stop-losses.
