Hyderabad: Indian equities opened marginally higher on Friday despite a sharp sell-off in artificial intelligence-related stocks on Wall Street, which recorded its steepest single-day decline since April 2025. The losses also dragged Asian markets lower.
The Sensex opened at 79,413.66, up 103.65 points or 0.13%, while the Nifty opened at 24,538.20, gaining 1.60 points or 0.01%. The opening came after the Sensex surged 2,008.61 points, or 2.60%, to close at 79,310.01 on Thursday, extending its gains to a sixth consecutive session.
By mid-morning, the Sensex had risen to 79,760.10, while the Nifty was trading at 24,612.85. The Sensex's stated gain of 443.87 points needs to be rechecked against the previous closing level before publication.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Indian equities worth Rs 14,974.68 crore on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data. Their net purchases over the five trading sessions from October 30 to November 5 stood at approximately Rs 35,809 crore.
The Indian rupee opened at 94.50 against the US dollar on Friday, down nine paise from its previous close of 94.41. It subsequently recovered to 94.36 during initial trade. The domestic currency came under pressure from a stronger US dollar and rising crude oil prices. Analysts expect the rupee to trade with a positive bias, supported by strength in domestic markets and fresh FII inflows. However, tensions between Russia and Ukraine and attacks in the Middle East could limit its gains.
Asian markets declined following the overnight sell-off on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 5.7% to 57,576.63 by midday after dropping more than 6% at the opening. South Korea's Kospi declined 7.4%, while shares of Samsung Electronics fell 7.9%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.7%, the Shanghai Composite declined 1.3% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1%.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 4.4% to 7,353.73, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 3.4% to 51,523.06. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.5% to 24,315.00. The Nasdaq has fallen 11.9% from its October record, entering correction territory, which refers to a decline of at least 10% from a recent peak.
Among major technology stocks, Nvidia fell 9.3%, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped 17.3%.
The sell-off was driven by concerns over the massive investments required to build AI infrastructure and whether companies would generate sufficient returns from that spending. Investors were also concerned that Democratic gains in the US midterm elections could lead to tighter regulations and restrictions on data-centre construction.
Brent crude futures rose 2.04% to $100.30 a barrel in early trade on Friday.