Bears Dominate Dalal Street! Sensex opens 772 points lower, Nifty dips below 25,600 – IT, metals, FMCG lead losses

Indian equity markets opened sharply lower on Friday, tracking weakness in global markets and heavy selling in IT, metal and FMCG stocks.

The BSE Sensex opened at 82,902.73, down 772 points from its previous close of 83,674.92. In early trade, the index touched an intraday high of 83,079.70 and a low of 82,846.85, reflecting continued volatility.

The Nifty 50 opened at 25,597.55, down 210 points from its previous close of 25,807.20. The index remained under pressure in the opening session amid broad-based selling.

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Nifty Sectoral Indices

Sectoral indices traded mostly in the red, led by IT counters. The Nifty IT fell 3.82 per cent to 31,892.35. Heavyweight technology stocks witnessed sharp declines following weakness in their US-listed ADRs and concerns over global demand.

Among major IT losers, Infosys dropped 5.73 per cent to 1,307.65. TCS declined 4.64 per cent to 2,624.20. HCL Tech fell 4.49 per cent to 1,409.75, while Tech Mahindra was down 2.94 per cent to 1,491.20.

Metal stocks also remained under pressure. The Nifty Metal declined 2.06 per cent to 12,026.05. Realty shares saw selling as well, with the Nifty Realty slipping 2.23 per cent. The Nifty Media fell 1.10 per cent.

Other sectoral indices were also weak. The Nifty FMCG dropped 0.78 per cent. The Nifty Oil & Gas was down 1.14 per cent, while the Nifty Pharma declined 0.72 per cent. The Nifty Private Bank slipped 0.22 per cent, indicating mixed performance in financial stocks.

Top Gainers and Losers

Banking counters traded on a mixed note. Kotak Mahindra Bank was down 0.09 per cent at 425.85. ICICI Bank declined 0.25 per cent to 1,426.60. Bajaj Finance slipped 0.28 per cent to 997.00.

On the gaining side, a few stocks managed marginal advances. Bharti Airtel rose 0.27 per cent to 2,020.45. Maruti Suzuki gained 0.13 per cent to 15,344.00, and Axis Bank was up 0.05 per cent to 1,340.70.

Broader markets also reflected weakness. Nifty 50 was down 1.00 per cent at 25,549.35 in early trade. Nifty Next 50 declined 1.71 per cent to 68,720.65. Midcap and smallcap indices fell between 1.7 per cent and 2.1 per cent, indicating broad-based selling pressure across market capitalisations.

Why Is The Stock Market Down Today?

Market expert Anil Singhvi said global concerns over artificial intelligence (AI)-led disruption have intensified volatility, especially in IT stocks.

“The biggest question is why there is panic in the US markets. The fear around AI and uncertainty about its future is creating pressure,” he said.

He said investors are worried about the scale of investments being made in AI and the lack of clarity on earnings visibility.

“There is too much uncertainty about how much companies are investing in AI and when and how they will earn from it. That uncertainty is not being liked by the market,” Singhvi said.

He added that disruption risk remains a key concern. “AI companies may or may not make money, but they can disrupt existing businesses. That fear is very strong globally,” he said.

On trading strategy, Singhvi recommended selling in Infosys futures with a stop loss at 1,410 and targets of 1,360, 1,340 and 1,325. He also maintained a sell call on Wipro futures with a stop loss at 226 and targets of 217, 213 and 210.

Overall, markets opened in negative territory with IT stocks leading the decline, while select telecom and auto counters provided limited support in an otherwise weak session.