Nifty, Sensex open flat as investors await clarity on US-India trade deal

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 24 (ANI): Indian stock markets opened on a flat note on Friday as investors remained in a wait-and-watch mode amid anticipation of an official announcement on a possible US-India trade deal.
The Nifty 50 index opened at 25,935.10 points, gaining 43.70 points or 0.17 per cent, while the BSE Sensex opened at 84,667.23, up by 110.83 points or 0.13 per cent.
Market experts said investor optimism remains high regarding the proposed trade deal between India and the United States, although no official confirmation has been made yet.
Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, told ANI, "Indian markets saw a gap up and given the talk of a possible US-India trade deal, export-oriented sectors like textiles and IT saw a strong recovery. Even though PM Modi is not travelling to Malaysia for the ASEAN summit, and will hence not be having a meeting with US President Trump, the deal optimism is high. Domestic political compulsions mean that any deal will be announced post the Bihar elections. FIIs turned net sellers as some profit-taking set in by the afternoon in markets.
In the broader market indices on the NSE, except for Nifty Midcap, which gained marginally by 0.02 per cent, all other major indices, including Nifty 100, opened under pressure.
Among the sectoral indices on the NSE, Nifty Metal index surged more than 1.12 per cent, while Nifty Realty also gained marginally. However, other sectors came under selling pressure, with Nifty FMCG declining by 1.27 per cent and Nifty Pharma losing 0.75 per cent.
Globally, the recent sanctions imposed on two top Russian crude oil companies also weighed on market sentiment.
Additionally, the sharp fall in gold and silver prices this week created a negative wealth effect. However, experts noted that reducing Russian oil revenues could accelerate a possible Ukraine-Russia peace deal, potentially brokered by the US.
Key companies scheduled to announce their Q2 FY26 results today include Dr Reddy's Laboratories, SBI Life Insurance Company, ITC Hotels, Coforge, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, Brigade Hotel Ventures, eClerx Services, Jinkushal Industries, Latent View Analytics, NACL Industries, and SBI Cards.
Vaishali Parekh, Vice President - Technical Research at PL Capital, said, "Nifty index is almost near to retesting the previous peak zone of the 26300 level and would have the important support positioned near the trend line zone at the 25400 level, which needs to be sustained to carry on with the positive trend further ahead."
In other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged 1.37 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose by 0.60 per cent, Singapore's Straits Times surge 0.37 per cent, South Korea's KOSPI index rallied more than 2 per cent and Taiwan's market closed for holiday. (ANI)