Indian benchmark equity indices reversed early gains to trade in the red for the second straight session on Friday, as investor sentiment turned cautious following a deadly terrorist attack on tourists in Kashmir, which heightened geopolitical risks.
The BSE Sensex was down 858 points, or 1.06%, at 78,960, while the Nifty50 dropped 277 points, or 1.14%, to 23,969 around 10:07 am. Earlier in the session, the Sensex had climbed to 80,130, and the Nifty had crossed the 24,350 mark.
Wall Street ended higher overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump said trade talks with China were underway, countering Beijing’s claims that no such discussions had taken place.
Following the update, Indian IT stocks surged up to 2.5%, with Persistent Systems, Mphasis, TCS, and Infosys leading the gains on the Nifty IT index.
However, despite early gains, Indian benchmark indices may come under pressure as investor sentiment turns cautious following a deadly terrorist attack on tourists in Kashmir, which has heightened geopolitical risks.
On the sectoral front, barring IT and Auto, all major indices were trading in the red. Nifty Private Bank, Bank, Healthcare, Pharma, and FMCG slipped up to 0.8%.
Among individual stocks, Waaree Energies fell 8.8% in early trade as around 15 crore shares became eligible for trading following the end of the shareholder lock-in period.
Expert View
"Sentiment remains cautious amid signs of escalating geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack," said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities.
"FPI’s long-to-short ratio is the highest since December 13, 2024, indicating that FPIs have started covering their shorts in the April series. Aggressive put writing at the 24,000 level suggests strong support in the 23,900–24,000 zone. Traders holding long positions are advised to protect them with a stop-loss at 24,119, with positional support for the Nifty seen near 23,900 and resistance on the upside at 24,360 and 24,545," he added.
Global Markets
Asian stock markets headed for a second straight week of gains on Friday and the dollar for its first weekly rise in more than a month as investors have welcomed an apparent softening of the White House stance on China, despite no signal of detente.
U.S. tech giant and Google parent Alphabet also beat profit expectations and reaffirmed AI spending targets, pushing its shares up nearly 5% in after-hours trade and pulling along peers and S&P 500 futures, which rose 0.5%.
Overnight on Wall Street investors had shrugged off a mixed bag of corporate results and the S&P 500 rose 2%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 0.9% and there were small rises for mainland China's Shanghai Composite and blue chip CSI300.
FII Tracker
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers of Indian shares for the seventh straight session on Thursday, with inflows amounting to Rs 8,251 crore ($968 million).
Crude Oil
Oil prices edged higher on Friday but were on track for a weekly loss as a potential OPEC+ output increase and a possible ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war may raise supply at the same time conflicting U.S. tariff signals limit the demand outlook.
Brent crude futures gained 5 cents to $66.60 a barrel by 0001 GMT, on track to fall 2% for the week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 6 cents to $62.85 a barrel but was set to decline 2.9% for the week.
Rupee vs Dollar
The Indian rupee rose 18 paise to 85.15 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, rose 0.47% to 99.84.39 level.
(With inputs from agencies)
The BSE Sensex was down 858 points, or 1.06%, at 78,960, while the Nifty50 dropped 277 points, or 1.14%, to 23,969 around 10:07 am. Earlier in the session, the Sensex had climbed to 80,130, and the Nifty had crossed the 24,350 mark.
Wall Street ended higher overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump said trade talks with China were underway, countering Beijing’s claims that no such discussions had taken place.
Following the update, Indian IT stocks surged up to 2.5%, with Persistent Systems, Mphasis, TCS, and Infosys leading the gains on the Nifty IT index.
However, despite early gains, Indian benchmark indices may come under pressure as investor sentiment turns cautious following a deadly terrorist attack on tourists in Kashmir, which has heightened geopolitical risks.
On the sectoral front, barring IT and Auto, all major indices were trading in the red. Nifty Private Bank, Bank, Healthcare, Pharma, and FMCG slipped up to 0.8%.
Among individual stocks, Waaree Energies fell 8.8% in early trade as around 15 crore shares became eligible for trading following the end of the shareholder lock-in period.
Expert View
"Sentiment remains cautious amid signs of escalating geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack," said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities.
"FPI’s long-to-short ratio is the highest since December 13, 2024, indicating that FPIs have started covering their shorts in the April series. Aggressive put writing at the 24,000 level suggests strong support in the 23,900–24,000 zone. Traders holding long positions are advised to protect them with a stop-loss at 24,119, with positional support for the Nifty seen near 23,900 and resistance on the upside at 24,360 and 24,545," he added.
Global Markets
Asian stock markets headed for a second straight week of gains on Friday and the dollar for its first weekly rise in more than a month as investors have welcomed an apparent softening of the White House stance on China, despite no signal of detente.
U.S. tech giant and Google parent Alphabet also beat profit expectations and reaffirmed AI spending targets, pushing its shares up nearly 5% in after-hours trade and pulling along peers and S&P 500 futures, which rose 0.5%.
Overnight on Wall Street investors had shrugged off a mixed bag of corporate results and the S&P 500 rose 2%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 0.9% and there were small rises for mainland China's Shanghai Composite and blue chip CSI300.
FII Tracker
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers of Indian shares for the seventh straight session on Thursday, with inflows amounting to Rs 8,251 crore ($968 million).
Crude Oil
Oil prices edged higher on Friday but were on track for a weekly loss as a potential OPEC+ output increase and a possible ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war may raise supply at the same time conflicting U.S. tariff signals limit the demand outlook.
Brent crude futures gained 5 cents to $66.60 a barrel by 0001 GMT, on track to fall 2% for the week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 6 cents to $62.85 a barrel but was set to decline 2.9% for the week.
Rupee vs Dollar
The Indian rupee rose 18 paise to 85.15 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, rose 0.47% to 99.84.39 level.
(With inputs from agencies)
You may also like
'Stand united & defeat terrorism': Rahul Gandhi visits Pahalgam, meets victims of terror attack
Noel and Liam Gallagher finally pictured back together for first time in years
Coronation Street star Bill Roache's heartbreaking confession about daughter before death
Liam and Noel Gallagher reunite at work for first time in years after patching up feud
Chris Eubank Jr responds to Conor Benn's mind games before grudge fight
