Stock Market Open: Sensex, Nifty Open Flat Amid Cautious Trading

The Indian stock market opened on a muted note on Friday, with both benchmark indices trading slightly lower. The BSE Sensex slipped 55.45 points, or 0.07 per cent, to open at 82,203.79, while the NSE Nifty declined 20.75 points, or 0.08 per cent, to begin the session at 25,090.70. Investors remain cautious amid mixed global cues and ahead of key corporate earnings announcements. Around 1,292 shares advanced, 950 declined, and 150 remained unchanged in early trade, indicating a mildly positive market breadth.

Among the top gainers on the Nifty were Jio Financial, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, L&T, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories. On the other hand, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and SBI Life Insurance were among the key laggards.

Wipro rose more than 3 per cent after the IT major posted a better-than-expected performance for the June quarter, supported by strong execution of large deals. Despite the positive results, brokerages are maintaining a cautious stance, adopting a wait-and-watch approach as the company projects a stronger recovery in the second half of the fiscal year.

Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, noted that India has been underperforming most global markets so far in July, with the Nifty registering a decline of 1.6 per cent.

"A significant contributor to the decline is the selling by FIIs. There is a clear pattern in FII activity this year so far. They were sellers in the first three months. For the next three months they turned buyers. And in the seventh month the trends so far indicate further selling unless some positive news reverse the downtrend in the market," he added.

Previous Trading Session

In the previous trading session on Thursday, Indian equity markets closed in the red, with the BSE Sensex slipping 374.59 points (‑0.45 per cent) to end at 82,259.89 (indicative), while the NSE Nifty50 shed 101.80 points (‑0.40 per cent) to settle at 25,110.25. The decline reflected cautious investor sentiment amid ongoing global uncertainties and weak performance across key sectors. On the BSE, 1,931 stocks advanced, 1,942 declined, and 152 remained unchanged, indicating a mixed market breadth.

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