The Indian stock markets are feeling the pressure, with both the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex opening flat on Friday in a weak trend. The Nifty 50 index opened slightly higher at 24,418.05 points, adding 18 points or 0.08%, while the BSE Sensex saw a marginal gain of 0.15% or 122 points, starting at 80,187.34.
Experts indicate that the 'Buy on Dips' approach isn’t proving effective, as Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continue to sell heavily. Disappointing Q2 earnings projections have also intensified the selling sentiment.
"The relentless, massive FII sell-off, reaching ₹98,085 crore this month as of the 24th, has rendered the buy-on-dips strategy ineffective. Adding to this, revised FY25 earnings estimates and weak Q2 numbers have created a slightly bearish outlook. A positive, however, is the steady inflow into mutual funds, allowing Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) to offset some of this selling," noted V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
He further commented, "This DII support can bring resilience to an otherwise weak market where, despite a 7% correction, there’s limited valuation comfort apart from some areas like large-cap financials. Growth stocks may hold up better in a market where value is scarce."
On the sectoral front, Nifty FMCG led gains on the National Stock Exchange, rising nearly 1% in early trading. While Nifty BANK and Nifty continued their downtrend, Nifty IT posted a minor gain of 0.09%.
In the Nifty 50 roster, early gainers included Axis Bank, ITC, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, and Sun Pharma, while IndusInd Bank, NTPC, L&T, and Shriram Finance were among the top laggards.
Noteworthy Q2 earnings announcements expected today include Coal India, Bharat Electronics, JSW Steel, DLF, and BPCL.
Asian markets showed mixed signals, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipping about 1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced over 1%. Meanwhile, South Korea’s KOSPI and Taiwan’s Weighted Index both climbed by 0.5%, and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite gained slightly by 0.2% at the time of reporting.
