Indian markets dawned positively on Friday, with BSE Sensex gaining a slender 28 points to 82,335 and NSE Nifty advancing 55 points to 25,344. The opening reflects steady investor appetite despite ongoing FII outflows.
Metals and IT sectors took the lead in early deals, driving gains alongside healthcare, pharma, consumer durables, commodities, private banks, and auto names, all firmly in the green.
Select pockets underperformed, including realty, energy, FMCG, PSU banks, India defense, oil & gas, and infra, which slipped amid broader caution.
Mid and smallcaps mirrored the largecap strength. Nifty Midcap 100 was up 131 points or 0.25% at 58,322, and Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 34 points or 0.20% to 16,711.
Top performers in Sensex included TCS, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Trent, ITC, and HDFC Bank. Draggers were IndiGo, Power Grid, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, L&T, and SBI.
International bourses were mostly upbeat, with gains in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Seoul; Jakarta bucked the trend. US markets ended higher Thursday.
FII selling persisted at Rs 2,549.80 crore, offset by DII buying of Rs 4,222.98 crore. Experts foresee this pattern holding till 2026, pending superior quarterly results or government measures to attract overseas funds.