Stock Market Updates: Sensex Opened in Red as Nifty IT Sectors Drag Market Down.

Stock Market Update: Sensex Opens in Red as Nifty IT Drags Markets Down

Written by: Supriya Kadu

Edited by: Pinky Deshmukh

Last Updated: March 21, 2025

Summary: IT companies led the slide as the Sensex dropped more than 240 points and the Nifty stayed around 23,150.

Indian main equity indices, the BSE Sensex and Nifty50, began down on Friday, tracking negative global cues.

The BSE Sensex was down 242.29 points, or 0.32%, at 76,105.77 at the opening bell, and the Nifty50 was down 44.60 points, or 0.19%, at 23,146.

The market effectively cleared the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and crossed the critical resistance zone of 23,000/75,700, indicating a bullish move, according to Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities.

The Japanese Topix index rose to an 8-month high on Friday, boosted by improvements in the banking sector and better-than-expected inflation statistics, bolstering anticipation of prospective interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.

The broader Topix index hit its highest point since July 24 at 2,817.58 and concluded the morning session at 2,814.15, up 0.65% from the previous session. It is anticipated that the index would keep rising for the seventh straight session.

On Friday, South Korean markets experienced a minor decline as gains in chip firms were offset by losses in steel and battery stocks. The market is still on course for its third straight week of gains in spite of the losses. After a weak display on Wall Street, the benchmark KOSPI was down 3.03 points, or 0.11%, at 2,634.07 as of 01:32 GMT.

U.S. equities closed slightly lower on Thursday, after a volatile session where investors analyzed the latest economic data and the Federal Reserve's policy announcement amid concerns about trade tariffs. Selling pressure has risen recently, with economic indications pointing to slower growth and decreasing consumer mood, compounded by the Trump administration's reciprocal trade tariffs.