Mumbai: Indian stock markets slipped in early trading on Friday, October 16, as weakness across several sectors outweighed support from information technology shares.
Sensex traded around 74,093, down 0.29 per cent, while Nifty touched an intraday low near 22,942, declining 0.24 per cent.
The reversal followed a positive opening. Sensex began at 74,341.08, gaining 25.47 points from its previous close of 74,315.61. Nifty opened at 23,065.10, up 67.75 points from 22,997.35.
IT Shares Offer Support
Nifty IT, Media, PSU Bank and Metal indices advanced up to 1.59 per cent during morning trading.
Oil & Gas, MidSmall IT & Telecom and FMCG indices declined up to 0.86 per cent. Realty and auto also weakened, while pharma, cement, healthcare and private banking indices registered marginal losses. RIL falls nearly 1 per cent ahead of the IPO.
The mixed sector performance indicated selective buying following the market’s recent recovery.
Earnings Optimism Supports Sentiment
Market experts said Nifty had gained 668 points over the previous three sessions, significantly outperforming overseas markets.
They attributed the resilience to weakening enthusiasm for global AI trades, expectations of possible long-term capital gains tax changes and encouraging quarterly results.
Better earnings and positive commentary from IT companies had supported an approximately 9 per cent rebound in the technology index, analysts said.
They also expected telecom, banking, automobiles and selected metal businesses to deliver supportive quarterly performances.
Bond Yields Ease, Risks Persist
The US 10-year Treasury yield declined to around 5.07 per cent. Analysts said lower yields and rupee strength could help moderate foreign institutional selling.
However, they cautioned that foreign outflows could persist while US yields remain above 5 per cent and Brent crude stays above $100 a barrel.
Nifty Technical Levels In Focus
Analysts retained a 23,200–23,600 outlook but expected corrective moves below 23,070. They identified 22,780 as an important level for sustaining buying interest.
Asian shares rose after Wall Street’s recovery. The S&P 500 gained 0.33 per cent, while Nasdaq ended 0.08 per cent higher on Thursday.
