Indian stock markets opened lower on Friday as early trends from the Bihar election shaped investor sentiment. At 9:20 a.m., the Sensex dropped 309 points to 84,182, while the Nifty fell 91 points to 25,787. Large-cap stocks weakened, but midcap and small-cap indices moved higher. The Nifty Midcap 100 rose 147 points, and the Nifty Small Cap 100 gained 28 points, showing strong interest in broader market segments.
Sectoral trends showed mixed movement. PSU banks, pharma, media, energy, public sector enterprises and healthcare traded in the green. Auto, IT, metal, FMCG, realty and infrastructure sectors posted early losses. BEL, Eternal (Zomato), Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, Trent, SBI, Adani Ports, Asian Paints and NTPC emerged as the top Sensex gainers. Infosys, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, TCS and L&T led the decline.
Analysts noted that investors remained cautious as the Bihar election results created uncertainty. They said long-term market direction will depend more on GDP growth and corporate earnings. Most Asian markets traded in the red, matching overnight weakness in the U.S. markets. FIIs sold equities worth Rs 383 crore on November 13, while DIIs bought over Rs 3,000 crore, helping limit broader losses.
