Sensex Opens at 82,985 Down 690 Points; Nifty at 25,589 as IT Stocks Slide 5%

Market Update at 9:29 AM: Indian stock markets extended their decline on Friday in line with global weakness as a continued technology sell-off dampened investor sentiment.

The BSE Sensex opened gap-down at 82,985, falling 690 points or 0.83 per cent, while the Nifty50 stood at 25,589, down 2,189 points or 0.85 per cent in early trade.

Market breadth remained weak with 26 of the 30 Sensex constituents trading lower. Major laggards included Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Tata Steel, NTPC, Titan Company, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv, InterGlobe Aviation and Power Grid Corporation of India.

Only a handful of stocks managed modest gains, including State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance and Maruti Suzuki India, rising between 0.1 per cent and 0.48 per cent.

Broader markets also remained under pressure. The Nifty MidCap index slipped 1.31 per cent and the Nifty SmallCap index declined 1.58 per cent. Meanwhile, India VIX, the volatility gauge, rose 4 per cent indicating heightened market nervousness.

Sectorally, IT stocks led the fall with the Nifty IT index plunging 5 per cent. Losses were driven by Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies, LTIMindtree, Coforge and Wipro.

Other sectors also traded lower, with the Nifty Metal index down 2 per cent, the Nifty Media index falling 1 per cent and the Nifty FMCG index declining 0.8 per cent.

Pre-Market Update at 7:52 AM: Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 are expected to open lower on Friday after weakness in global markets. Technology stocks dragged Wall Street to its worst session of the month as investors stayed cautious ahead of U.S. inflation data.

The Indian IT sector may remain under pressure after ADR declines of Infosys and Wipro following an AI-led global tech sell-off. Infosys ADR fell 9.8 per cent and Wipro ADR dropped 4.6 per cent, while global enterprise software companies lost nearly USD 1 trillion in market value.

Defence stocks could outperform after the Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, cleared capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 3.60 lakh crore to strengthen combat readiness of the armed forces. The Ministry of Defence also signed a Rs 2,312 crore contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to procure eight Dornier 228 aircraft under the Buy (Indian) category.

At 7:21 AM, GIFT Nifty traded near 25,722, up 128 points from the previous close. Stock-specific action is expected amid the Q3FY26 earnings season where companies including Torrent Pharmaceuticals, GMR Airports, Siemens Energy India, Info Edge India, Alkem Laboratories, Fortis Healthcare, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Ipca Laboratories, ITI and NBCC (India) will announce results.

On February 11, FIIs bought equities worth Rs 108.42 crore, while DIIs purchased Rs 276.85 crore. FIIs have been net buyers for five consecutive sessions and have bought Rs 6,021.85 crore so far in February.

In the previous session, markets ended lower amid profit booking and IT selling pressure. Sensex fell 558.72 points (0.66 per cent) to 83,674.92, while Nifty 50 declined 146.65 points (0.57 per cent) to 25,807.20.

U.S. markets closed sharply lower with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.34 per cent, S&P 500 down 1.57 per cent and Nasdaq Composite down 2.03 per cent. Major tech stocks declined including Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Tesla.

Gold rose to about USD 4,960 per ounce after a previous sell-off, silver hovered near USD 76 per ounce and remained on track for a third weekly decline, while WTI crude traded below USD 62.78 per barrel amid oversupply concerns.

For today, Sammaan Capital and SAIL will remain on the F&O ban list.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.