Nifty, Sensex under pressure in opening trade as Bihar vote counting keeps investors cautious

NEW DELHI: India’s benchmark equity indices opened in the red on Friday as investors stayed cautious amid the ongoing counting of votes for the politically crucial Bihar Assembly elections.

Market sentiment remained muted as traders assessed the potential impact of the Bihar outcome on the stability of the central government.

The Nifty 50 index opened at 25,798.25, registering a decline of -80.90 points or (-0.31 per cent). The BSE Sensex also started lower at 84,220.50, down -258.17 points or -0.31 per cent.

Market expert Ajay Bagga, speaking to ANI, said the day is expected to remain volatile as the Bihar election results carry significant political implications.

He noted, “Indian markets are pointing to a slightly lower open but the day will be volatile as the politically significant state level election outcome for Bihar will impact sentiments. The federal government has 12 MPs from the Bihar coalition partner JD(U), hence the Bihar results and the next few days’ developments could impact the stability of the central government as well.”

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Bagga added that if the ruling coalition gains a clear lead by late afternoon, markets may see a strong upward move.

“Expect a volatile day, with markets making a strong up move if the ruling coalition emerges at the top by late noon. Markets will take that as a boost to policy continuity and political stability and will focus back on the fundamentals,” he said.

In the broader market, performance was mixed. The Nifty 100 declined by 0.25 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.27 per cent. The Nifty Smallcap index also gained 0.16 per cent, indicating selective buying in mid- and small-cap counters despite the cautious sentiment in large caps.

Sector-wise, indices showed a mixed trend. On the NSE, Nifty Auto dropped 0.36 per cent, FMCG slipped 0.26 per cent, and Nifty IT declined by 0.95 per cent. On the other hand, Nifty Media gained 0.53 per cent, and Nifty Pharma remained in the green.

Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal were down by 0.42 per cent, reflecting pressure across rate-sensitive and commodity-linked sectors.

Meanwhile, in the primary market, the IPO of Physics Wallah, an edtech platform offering test preparation courses for various competitive exams, continued to attract investors. On Day 3, the issue was subscribed by 1.81 times.

The subscription was led by qualified institutional investors (2.70 times), while non-institutional investors subscribed 0.48 times and retail investors applied 1.06 times.

Global cues also remained weak. US markets saw a sharp fall on Thursday on concerns around stretched AI valuations and comments from the US Federal Reserve indicating that a December rate cut is not guaranteed.

Asian markets mirrored the sentiment, trading lower this morning on the back of the weak US hand-off and disappointing Chinese economic numbers. (ANI)