Nifty Falls Below 25,000, Sensex Slips Under 82,000 In Early Trade

Indian stock markets came under pressure on Friday as selling by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) weighed on investor sentiment.

At the time of reporting, the Nifty 50 stood at 25,010.35, down 51.75 points or 0.21 per cent, while the BSE Sensex was trading at 82,065.76, a decline of 118.41 points or 0.14 per cent.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, told ANI, "Indian markets are pointing to a continued negative outlook as per the traded futures. FPIs remain sellers while DIIs are absorbing the selling. Once more critical support levels are being challenged, so today's price action is important for the health of the Indian markets. Earnings continued to be weak on the whole, and with no US India Trade deal on the horizon before the August 1st deadline, markets are getting into a worry zone on that front."

He further added, "Fasten seat belts, we see key supports holding due to the blessed Indian retail investors who are determinedly buying every dip and keeping their faith in the Indian managements and economy even as FPIs are selling consistently."

Broad market indices on the NSE also reflected the pressure. The Nifty 100 was down by 0.53 per cent, Nifty Midcap 100 slipped by 0.34 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 lost 0.56 per cent. All other major indices were trading in the red.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Auto declined by 0.66 per cent, Nifty IT by 0.19 per cent, Nifty Media by 0.40 per cent, and Nifty Metal by 0.46 per cent. The only gainer at the time of filing the report was Nifty Pharma, which was up by 0.26 per cent.

Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, said, "The Nifty erased all its Wednesday gains yesterday, as it dropped 159 points to finish the day at 25062. Technically speaking, yesterday's candle completed yet another bearish engulfing, which means we have had two in quick succession - a rare event. The battle lines are clear: 25000 is vital support, while 25245 is key resistance. Bears will continue to have the upper hand until we have a daily close above 25340."

On the earnings front, several major companies are scheduled to release their quarterly results today, including Bajaj Finserv, Bank of Baroda, Cipla, Shriram Finance, SBI Cards & Payment Services, Schaeffler India, Steel Authority of India, Petronet LNG, Laurus Labs, Poonawalla Fincorp, Tata Chemicals, Aadhar Housing Finance, Grindwell Norton, and ACME Solar Holdings.

Meanwhile, global cues also remained weak. US-China trade talks scheduled in Sweden on Monday are expected to provide the next signal for the trajectory of US-India talks, especially as discussions on Russian oil supplies are also expected in Stockholm. With fiscal action lacking and the monetary policy meet slated for August 6, Indian markets are bracing for a potentially weak end to the week, marking what could be the fourth consecutive negative week.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index was down 0.79 per cent, Singapore's Straits Times fell by 0.48 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined by 1.19 per cent, and Taiwan's Weighted Index was marginally down by 0.08 per cent. South Korea's KOSPI was the only major gainer, up by 0.35 per cent.

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