Sensex drops 439 points, Nifty slips below 24,550 at opening bell

Domestic equity markets opened slightly lower on Friday, driven by rising crude oil prices and global cues ahead of key US economic data.

The Sensex opened at 78,516.08, slipping 438.68 points (0.56%), while the Nifty fell 97.10 points (0.39%) to 24,538.90.

Sector-wise, financials, banking and cement shares faced selling pressure in early trade, with the Nifty Financial Services Ex‑Bank, Nifty Cement, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank slipping as much as 1%.

In contrast, IT, auto, real estate, FMCG and telecom stocks rose. The Nifty IT, Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom, Nifty Auto, Nifty Realty and Nifty FMCG indices gained as much as 1.5%.

Experts say the market is consolidating and slowly edging higher.

They added that this trend is likely to persist in the near term, setting the stage for an eventual upside breakout, and highlighted several key takeaways from the Q1 results that investors should note.

The experts highlighted three factors. First, most companies in sectors such as financials, automobiles, pharmaceuticals and telecom have posted double‑digit revenue and profit growth, lending resilience to their share prices.

Second, IT continues to face headwinds from sluggish growth and worries about AI’s impact on the sector.

Third, in commodities such as metals and oil, performance has been mixed.

Going forward, financials, automobiles, telecom and capital goods are expected to sustain their growth momentum, the experts said, adding that although the broader market has delivered superior growth, elevated valuations will limit further upside.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices have risen amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

International benchmark Brent crude rose more than 1% to $83.83 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also traded over 1% higher at $78.42.