Equity benchmarks opened in positive territory on Friday, tracking a firm start indicated by the GIFT Nifty, even as mixed global cues kept investors cautious.
The session was defined by a divergence between broad market strength and sector-specific weakness, with a record-setting Dow Jones Industrial Average offset by a notable slide in the Nasdaq Composite.
The semiconductor rout weighed heavily on sentiment, dragging down technology-heavy indices despite the broader market's positive open.
Conversely, IT stocks led the gains, benefiting from a supportive environment as crude oil prices fell.
The drop in energy costs provided a tailwind for service providers, helping to offset the pressure from the chip sector's decline.
Investors remained cautious amid the conflicting signals, balancing the bullish momentum in industrial and energy-adjacent sectors against the sell-off in growth-oriented technology names.