Indian equity markets opened sharply lower on Friday morning as geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran near the Strait of Hormuz rattled global sentiment. According to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine, the Sensex opened at 77,631.94 and slipped further to 77,472.60, down 371.92 points or 0.48 per cent as of 9.20 am. The Nifty 50, which ended Thursday at 24,326.65, opened at 24,233.65 and was trading at 24,210.80, lower by 115.85 points or 0.48 per cent. The sell-off came despite Thursday's session ending nearly flat, with the Nifty having slipped just 4.30 points, or 0.02 per cent.
Brent crude futures were trading at $101.13 per barrel, up 1.07 per cent, while WTI crude stood at $95.59, up 0.82 per cent, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. On the domestic Multi Commodity Exchange, May crude oil futures were at ₹9,032, down 0.36 per cent from the previous close of ₹9,065. The elevated oil prices, driven by US-Iran military exchanges, were a key factor in the market decline. According to Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, the ongoing US-Iran conflict remains a significant overhang for global markets, fuelling headline-driven volatility.
Among Nifty 50 top gainers in early trade, Tata Consumer Products rose 1.34 per cent to ₹1,167.10, Asian Paints gained 1.34 per cent to ₹2,564.50, Tech Mahindra advanced 1.13 per cent to ₹1,464.60, Wipro added 0.65 per cent to ₹198.64, and Infosys edged up 0.60 per cent to ₹1,169.70 — a reversal from the previous session's IT sector weakness. On the losing side, Coal India was the top decliner, falling 1.75 per cent to ₹458.50, Mahindra & Mahindra dropped 1.30 per cent to ₹3,327, Axis Bank slipped 1.18 per cent to ₹1,277.40, and HDFC Bank fell 1.16 per cent to ₹786.80. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, IT and banking sectors were the primary drags on the market.
Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹340.89 crore on Thursday on a cash basis, taking their month-to-date outflows to ₹6,961.75 crore and year-to-date net selling to ₹2,47,713.62 crore, according to NSE data. However, domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth ₹441 crore on Thursday, with year-to-date inflows standing at a robust ₹3,16,312.81 crore. Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, noted that FIIs are net sellers, particularly in banking and IT heavyweights, and this dichotomy will continue so long as FPIs remain net sellers.
Technically, analysts said 24,200 was now the critical support level for the Nifty 50. According to Rajesh Palviya, Head of Research at Axis Direct, falling below this could quickly push the index toward 24,000. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, bulls need a daily close above 24,400 to regain upward momentum. The Nifty Put-Call Ratio stood at 1.08, easing from 1.19 in the previous session, while India VIX declined 0.34 per cent to 16.62, marking its fourth consecutive session of decline. The key market event for Friday was the release of the US Nonfarm Payrolls data for April, which analysts said could further influence global risk sentiment.
