Mumbai: Indian equity markets opened lower on Friday as investors stayed cautious and awaited cues from the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee decision on the key repo rate.
As of 9.25 am, Sensex lost 134 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 83,179, and Nifty eased 56 points, or 0.22 per cent to 25,586.
Main broad-cap indices posted strong losses, with the Nifty Midcap 100 easing 0.48 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 edging down 0.97 per cent.
Major sectoral indices traded in red, except PSU bank, private bank as well as oil and gas. Most notable losers were IT, down 1.76 per cent and pharma, down 1.03 per cent.
Immediate support for Nifty lies at 25,450-25,500 zone, while resistance is anchored at 25,750–25,800 zone, market watchers said.
The MPC policy committee set to announce the decision and is widely expected to keep repo rates unchanged at 5.25 per cent, with focus likely to remain on liquidity management and transmission.
Since February 2025, the RBI has cut repo rate by 125 basis points (bps).
Meanwhile, the Asian-Pacific markets traded mixed, tracking another tech-led rout on Wall Street.
In Asian markets, China’s Shanghai index added 0.11 per cent, and Shenzhen added 0.65 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.51 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged down 1.19 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.79 per cent.
The US markets ended in the red overnight as Nasdaq eased 1.59 per cent. The S&P 500 declined 1.23 per cent, and the Dow Jones lost 1.2 per cent.
On February 5, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold equities worth Rs 2,151 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 1,130 crore.
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Caption: Mumbai: A pedestrian walks past the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building as a live screening shows Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the Union Budget 2026-27, in Mumbai on Sunday, February 1, 2026. (Photo: IANS)
—IANS
