Mumbai, May 16 (IANS) The domestic benchmark indices opened lower on Friday amid mixed global cues as selling was seen in the IT, financial services and pharma sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.29 am, Sensex was trading 231.64 points or 0.28 per cent down at 82,299.10, while the Nifty declined 49,95 point or 0.20 per cent at 25,012.15.

Nifty Bank was down 52.40 points or 0.09 per cent at 55,303.20. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 56,700.05 after rising 169.20 points or 0.30 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 17,318.40 after climbing 78.45 points or 0.46 per cent.

According to analysts, on the technical front, Nifty formed a strong bullish candle on the daily chart, breaking out of an inside bar pattern and closing above the crucial 25,000 level.

“The index witnessed an intraday recovery of nearly 200 points, reflecting sustained bullish momentum. Immediate support is placed at 24,850–24,700, while resistance is seen at 25,100 and 25,235. A decisive breakout above the 25,235 level could drive the index higher toward the 25,500–25,743 zone,” said Hardik Matalia from Choice Broking.

Traders are advised to adopt a “buy on dips” strategy with strict risk management and avoid taking large overnight positions due to ongoing global uncertainties, he added.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, SBI, Infosys, HCL Tech and M&M were the top losers. Whereas, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki and Axis Bank were the top gainers.

In the Asian markets, China, Hong Kong and Japan were trading in red, whereas, Bangkok, Jakarta and Seoul were trading in green.

In the last trading session, Dow Jones in the US closed at 42,322.75, up 271.69 points, or 0.65 per cent. The S&P 500 ended with a gain of 24.35 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 5,916.93 and the Nasdaq closed at 19,112.32, down 34.49 points, or 0.18 per cent.

The April economic data presents an interesting mix of signals about the U.S. economy. The Producer Price Index (PPI) showed a surprising decrease of 0.5 per cent, which was significantly different from economists’ expectations of a 0.2 per cent increase. This unexpected drop in producer prices suggests that inflationary pressures might be easing at the wholesale level, said experts.

“Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday discussed the Fed’s framework review, a twice-a-decade look at the central bank’s monetary-policy strategy. He said the Fed was in the process of making adjustments to account for meaningful changes in the outlook for inflation and interest rates after the 2020 pandemic,” said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities.

On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 5,392.94 crore on May 15, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,668.47 crore.

–IANS

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