Stock market today: Indian equity benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty50, opened in red on Friday. While BSE Sensex was below 75,700, Nifty50 was near 22,900. At 9:26 AM, BSE Sensex was trading at 75,664.09, down 72 points or 0.095%. Nifty50 was at 22,887.45, down 26 points or 0.11%.
Benchmark indices closed slightly lower amid volatile trading during the weekly expiry session on Thursday. Market participants will closely monitor the preliminary manufacturing and services PMI data for February from both US and India today.
In the absence of fresh catalysts, market experts anticipate Nifty to move sideways near current levels, as it maintains position above 22,800-22,900 range for seven consecutive trading sessions, with support from buying at dips.
US markets declined on Thursday as persistent tariff concerns and Walmart’s cautious outlook affected investor sentiment. A widespread decline pushed all three major US indices lower, with the Dow experiencing the largest drop of 1.01%. The S&P 500 ended its two-day streak of record highs.
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Asian equities showed mixed performance after US markets retreated from peak levels, influenced by the underwhelming outlook from a major retail corporation, raising economic concerns. The Japanese currency gained strength, crossing the 150 mark against the dollar.
Gold prices remained stable on Friday, continuing their positive momentum for the eighth consecutive week, influenced by worries regarding US President Donald Trump’s trade policies and potential inflationary impacts.
The yen reached a two-and-a-half month peak on Friday, bolstered by increased Japanese inflation figures. The dollar continued its decline for the third straight week as analysts assessed Trump’s second term trade rhetoric.
Foreign portfolio investors registered net sales of Rs 3,311 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 3,908 crore.
FIIs’ net short position increased from Rs 1.85 lakh crore on Wednesday to Rs 1.92 lakh crore on Thursday.
