Indian equity indices opened Friday’s trading session on a lower note, after reaching near record highs a day ago. The NSE Nifty 50 opened 88 points or 0.34% lower at 26,100. The BSE Sensex opened 260 points or 0.30% lower at 85,372.
The Bank Nifty opened 250 points or 0.42% lower at 59,100. Similarly, the small and mid-cap stocks were in line with benchmarks. The Nifty Midcap opened 185 points or 0.30% lower at 60,779.
Market volatility has spiked. Nasdaq, the barometer of the AI trade, closed down 2.15% yesterday, crashing 4.4% from the intraday peak. This kind of market movement is a signal of more volatility in store, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.
“There is excessive speculative trading in many stocks in India, particularly in some newly listed stocks. Retail investors should better avoid such speculative trades, which usually end in tears for the vast majority. The ideal investment strategy now would be to buy fairly valued high-quality stocks on declines and wait patiently,” he added.
Let’s take a look at the key factors to watch out for today’s trading session
Early gainers and laggards
In early trade, among the Nifty 50, top gainers at this hour were Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, and TCS. On the flip side, the key laggards in the Nifty 50 pack included Hindalco Industries, Shriram Finance, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, and HCL Technologies.
Major movers on Friday
The stocks that were the major movers in the opening trade included M&M, TCS, NTPC, Asian Paints, and Hindustan Unilever, which were the major movers in the morning trade.