Indian Stocks Open Lower: Sensex Falls 364 Pts, IT Shines

As the week wrapped up, Indian equities opened in negative territory on Friday, pressured by subdued global signals. The benchmark Sensex tumbled 364.85 points or 0.44% to 81,883.76 shortly after a tepid start at 82,220.48. Nifty wasn't spared either, slipping 119.05 points or 0.47% to 25,377.50 from an opening of 25,459.85.

Sectoral performance painted a grim picture, with every Nifty index except IT in the red. Nifty IT surged 0.81%, standing out as the sole gainer. Heavyweights like Nifty Auto (-0.84%), FMCG (-0.99%), and Bank (-0.53%) dragged the market lower. Midcap and smallcap indices followed suit, down 0.41% and 0.51% respectively.

Sensex's 30 stocks showed clear winners and losers. IT names continued their rally for the third day: Infosys, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Eternal, HCL Tech, and TCS emerged as top performers. Conversely, Maruti Suzuki, HUL, Ultratech Cement, M&M, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Asian Paints, and Kotak Bank saw the biggest drops, reflecting profit-taking in defensives.

Choice Broking's Akash Shah dissected yesterday's action: Nifty's 83-point gap-up hit 25,572.95 intraday but reversed sharply by 170 points to 25,400, closing up just 14 points at 25,496.55. Resistance looms at 25,600-25,650, support at 25,300-25,350, with RSI neutral at 47.11. FIIs offloaded Rs 3,465 crore, countered by DIIs' Rs 5,000+ crore buying spree.

Shah advises caution amid volatility: Stick to robust fundamentals on pullbacks. Long positions make sense only post a sustained Nifty break above 25,800, confirming upward momentum and structural positivity.