Stock Market Opens Lower; Sensex Falls 325 Points, Nifty Below 25,300

The Indian stock market opened on a weak note on Friday, tracking subdued global cues and continued investor caution. The BSE Sensex slipped 325.48 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 82,864.80 in early trade, while the NSE Nifty declined 71.85 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 25,283.40. Broader market sentiment remained under pressure amid concerns over global economic trends, inflationary risks, and potential interest rate movements. Around 1,077 stocks advanced, 1,048 declined, while 154 remained unchanged in early trade.

On the Nifty, major laggards included TCS, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Hindalco, and Trent. Meanwhile, notable gainers were HUL, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI Life Insurance, SBI, and ICICI Bank.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “A significant trend in market performance in H1 2025 is the outperformance of large caps vs the broader market. While Nifty Smallcap 250 Index and Nifty Midcap 150 Index delivered 0.3 per cent and 4.0 per cent returns respectively, Nifty 50 delivered 7.9 per cent return. The overvaluation of the broader market is getting corrected. India is underperforming markets like South Korea, Germany, Japan and MSCI EM. This is largely due to the elevated valuations in India.”

“Q1 results of TCS indicate continuing struggle for IT companies, particularly large cap IT. However, midcap IT is likely to do well. Outperformance in Q1 will be from telecom, oil and gas and segments of autos. Investors may focus on fairly valued stocks with earnings visibility"

Previous Trading Session

In the previous trading session on Thursday, the Indian stock market ended lower, dragged down by widespread selling across major sectors. The BSE Sensex declined by 344.66 points, or 0.41 per cent, closing at 83,191.42, while the NSE Nifty dropped 120.85 points, or 0.47 per cent, to finish at 25,355.25. Investor sentiment remained subdued due to ongoing global market volatility and lingering concerns over inflation and interest rate trajectories. Additionally, weak cues from Asian markets and profit-taking in heavyweight stocks added to the downward pressure.

(more to come)

business