Market opening: Indices open flat down, SENSEX falls 14 points, NIFTY50 at 25,867 as FMCG stocks drag; HUL top loser

The Indian stock market opened slightly lower on Friday, October 24, weighed down by losses in FMCG stocks and continued foreign fund outflows.

In contrast, the broader market showed a mixed trend in early trade, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.06% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 down 0.02%.

Among sectors, Nifty FMCG was the top laggard, slipping 1.21%, followed by Nifty Pharma, down 0.72%, and Nifty PSU Bank, down 0.08%. Meanwhile, Nifty Metal (1.5%), Nifty Realty (0.78%) and Nifty IT (0.40%) took the lead among gainers.

According to exchange data, on Thursday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹1,165.94 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹3,893.73 crore on a net basis.

Globally, Asian stocks traded higher on Friday, with South Korea’s Kospi hitting a record high, as regional markets gained momentum following news that US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold talks next week.

Japan's Nikkei rose 1.52%, Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.26%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng also gained 0.51%, while South Korea's KOSPI rallied 2.17%. The Shanghai Composite is also trading higher by 0.42%.

On Wall Street, the US benchmark indices closed positive on Thursday, driven by gains in technology shares, amid a mixed set of corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 144.20 points, or 0.31%, to end at 46,734.61, while the S&P 500 rose 39.03 points, or 0.58%, to close at 6,738.43. The Nasdaq Composite settled 201.40 points, or 0.89%, higher at 22,941.80.

As many as 2,704 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 1,423 advanced, 1,180 declined, and 101 shares remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market's breadth is favourable towards advances.

Meanwhile, 41 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while 11 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 40 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 17 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading at 11.74 levels, rising marginally by 0.08%.

Hindustan Unilever was the biggest loser, declining 3.56%, followed by Cipla (-2.9%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (-1.62%), Tata Consumer Products (-0.99%) and Axis Bank (-0.63%).

On the flip side, Hindalco Industries (3.41%), Shriram Finance (1.42%), Bharat Electronics (1.03%), ONGC (0.89%), and ICICI Bank (0.73%) were the top gainers on the 50-share index.