Domestic equity benchmarks staged a mild recovery on Friday morning following steep losses in the previous session. Amid mixed cues from international equity markets, value accumulation at lower price levels supported the indices, helping them climb back into the green. Steady purchasing across automobile and financial counters provided crucial backing to the indices, even though persistent selling pressure across software exporters capped the morning momentum.
Opening Performance of Benchmark Indices
During the opening minutes of the session, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced by 98.66 points, or 0.13 percent, to trade at 73,679.20. Simultaneously, the 50-share NSE Nifty edged up by 21.55 points, or 0.09 percent, reaching 23,084.65. Overall market breadth leaned in favour of advances during early deals. Across listed counters, around 1,090 stocks registered price gains, while 781 traded lower in the red, and 155 stocks remained unchanged compared to their previous closes.
Top Advancing Stocks Across Frontline Indices
Broad market data indicated that industrial, financial, and utility counters powered the early advance. On the Nifty dashboard, leading gainers included Adani Enterprises, Shriram Finance, and Power Grid Corp. On the BSE Sensex heatmap, Larsen & Toubro led the performers with a 0.94 percent increase. Following closely, Axis Bank advanced 0.90 percent, Mahindra & Mahindra gained 0.84 percent, and Power Grid rose 0.66 percent to capture the second, third, and fourth spots respectively. State Bank of India also advanced 0.58 percent, accompanied by a 0.54 percent increase in Bajaj Finance.
Technology Counters Face Steep Selling Pressure
Despite the broader market optimism, information technology stocks encountered pronounced selling from the opening bell, dragging down the tech benchmark. Shares of Infosys declined by 1.45 percent to ₹994.50. Market peer Tata Consultancy Services dropped 1.39 percent to touch ₹2,048.20. Tech Mahindra also witnessed selling interest, shedding 0.99 percent to trade at ₹1,530.75. Furthermore, soft sentiment persisted in Wipro as well as state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, with both trading under pressure in negative territory.
Sectoral Breakdown Across Industries
Sectoral indices showcased a sharp divergence between technology weakness and financial resilience. The Nifty IT index took a significant beating, slipping 1.41 percent. In contrast, defensive buying emerged in the banking space, where the Nifty Bank index moved up 0.26 percent, and the Nifty Realty index gained 0.35 percent, successfully preventing headline indices from falling back into the red. Support was further bolstered by public sector lenders, as the Nifty PSU Bank index held onto a 0.19 percent gain.
