Mumbai, Feb 20 (IANS) The Indian equity markets opened the last trading session of the week in red on Friday, extending sharp losses seen the previous day.

As of 9.26 a.m., Sensex lost 154 points, or 0.19 per cent, to reach 82,343, and Nifty dipped 31 points, or 0.12 per cent, to settle at 25,423.

Main broad-cap indices moved in opposite directions as the Nifty Midcap 100 lost 0.13 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 0.13 per cent.

Sectoral indices traded mostly in the green except Nifty IT, the major loser, down 1.07 per cent and media, down 0.41 per cent.

Pharma and realty dipped marginally down 0.04 per cent and 0.12 per cent, respectively. All other indices were in green, with PSU bank being the major gainer, up 0.58 per cent.

Immediate support for Nifty is placed at the 25,400-25,300 zone, while resistance is anchored at the 25,675 range, market watchers said.

Immediate support for Bank Nifty is seen in the 60,500 – 60,300 zone, while 61,000 acts as immediate resistance, analysts said.

The sharp 1.41 per cent decline in the previous session erased recent gains and wiped out nearly Rs 6.79 lakh crore in market capitalisation. The sell-off was broad-based across banking, auto, FMCG, metals, and aviation stocks, reflecting a clear risk-off sentiment driven by escalating US-Iran geopolitical tensions and a hawkish US Fed outlook, analysts said.

They flagged the spike in India VIX to 13.46 (up over 10 per cent) and sustained FII pressure, with DIIs also turning net sellers in the previous session.

While underlying macro fundamentals remain resilient, near-term sentiment has turned fragile and risk-averse amid mixed global cues and the absence of immediate positive triggers, market participants said.

Market movements are likely to remain range-bound with a downside bias until volatility cools or fresh catalysts provide clearer direction, they forecast.

On account of the Lunar New Year, markets in mainland China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange will remain closed till February 23.

Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.2 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.57 per cent.

South Korea’s Kospi added 1.44 per cent.

The US markets ended in the red overnight as the Nasdaq dipped 0.31 per cent. The S&P 500 declined 0.28 per cent, and the Dow Jones lost 0.54 per cent.

On February 19, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold equities worth Rs 881 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of equities worth Rs 596 crore.

–IANS

aar/dpb