Indian Stock Market Opens Flat

On Friday, the Indian equity benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty50, opened flat in trade. While BSE Sensex was around 79,900, Nifty50 was near 24,200. At 9:19 AM, BSE Sensex was trading at 79,899.61, down 44 points or 0.055%. Nifty50 was at 24,187.55, down 1 point or 0.0045%.

Positive Momentum Continues

Indian markets showed positive momentum on Thursday, marking the second consecutive day of gains in 2025. Nifty recorded a significant 2% increase, its highest since late November.

Investors Eye Pre-Quarterly Updates

Investors are anticipated to monitor upcoming pre-quarterly business updates for insights into the forthcoming result season. Market analysts anticipate a steady upward trend in the coming days, whilst maintaining focus on Q3 earnings and global market indicators as international exchanges resume after holiday closures.

Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said, "The short-term trend of Nifty remains strong on the upside and one may expect Nifty to move towards the next hurdle of 24,400 levels. Any dips from here could find support around 23,900."

Global Market Influence

US markets closed lower amid volatile trading, influenced by labour market data, strengthening dollar and Tesla's share decline. Asian markets displayed resilience against the negative sentiment from US markets, where stocks declined for the fifth consecutive session, indicating a careful beginning to the year.

Gold Prices Rise

Gold prices increased on Friday, following a 1% rise in the previous session, supported by risk-averse investing, whilst attention remained on Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook and the incoming US President's proposed trade policies.

Investment Shifts

Foreign portfolio investors shifted to net purchases of Rs 1,506 crore on Friday. Domestic institutional investors acquired shares worth Rs 22 crore. FIIs' net short position decreased from Rs 2.34 lakh crore on Wednesday to Rs 2.02 lakh crore on Thursday.