The Indian equity benchmarks opened with gains on Friday, as Sensex edged up 28 points to settle at 82,335 and Nifty rose 55 points to 25,344 in a flat-to-positive start. This comes after a week of volatility driven by institutional activity.
Sectoral trends painted a mixed picture at the opening bell. Metals and IT indices spearheaded the advance, with healthcare, pharmaceuticals, consumer durables, commodities, private banks, and automobiles following suit in positive territory.
Contrastingly, realty, energy, FMCG, PSU banks, defense, oil & gas, and infrastructure sectors faced headwinds, trading lower as investors rotated out of these spaces.
Strength was evident across market caps. Largecaps held steady, while Nifty Midcap 100 surged 131 points (0.25%) to 58,322 and Nifty Smallcap 100 climbed 34 points (0.20%) to 16,711, underscoring resilience in smaller stocks.
Sensex heavyweights TCS, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Trent, ITC, and HDFC Bank posted gains. Losers comprised IndiGo, Power Grid, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, L&T, and SBI.
Overseas, Asian peers like Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Seoul were green, though Jakarta lagged. Wall Street’s upbeat close on Thursday further bolstered sentiments.
FIIs sold shares netting Rs 2,549.80 crore, extending their recent trend, while DIIs absorbed the supply with purchases worth Rs 4,222.98 crore. Analysts project this divergence to continue through 2026 without catalysts like strong earnings or policy reforms to boost FII inflows.