Indian stock indices opened on a negative note Friday, dragged down by heavyweight stocks like Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel, even as midcap and smallcap stocks provided support to the broader market.
By 9:25 am, the Sensex slipped 171 points (0.21%) to 82,087, while the Nifty fell 35 points (0.14%) to 25,075.
Top gainers in the Sensex pack included M&amp;M, Tata Steel, Power Grid, L&amp;T, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, NTPC, and Maruti Suzuki. On the losing side were Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, and Bajaj Finance.
Sector-wise, the auto, IT, PSU bank, metal, energy, infrastructure, and real estate sectors posted gains. However, financial services, FMCG, and private banks were under pressure.
Analysts point to continued foreign institutional investor (FII) selling as a major cause for the underperformance. So far in July, the Nifty has declined 1.6%, reversing gains seen in earlier months. On July 17 alone, FIIs offloaded equities worth ₹3,694 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought ₹2,820 crore worth of stocks.
Technically, the Nifty is still above its rising trendline from May lows. A bearish engulfing candle was formed on Thursday, with key support at 25,000 and resistance near 25,340.
Despite local weakness, Asian markets were mostly in the green, with Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Jakarta posting gains. US indices also closed higher, boosting global sentiment.
[Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by the Benefit News editorial team and is published directly from the IANS news feed.]

Sensex, Nifty Dip as FIIs Continue Selling

Markets open lower; midcap and smallcap stocks offer support amid FII outflows

Sensex, Nifty Dip as FIIs Continue Selling

Markets open lower; midcap and smallcap stocks offer support amid FII outflows

July 18, 2025 | 10:11 IST