MUMBAI, India — Indian equity markets fell for a fifth straight session on Friday, weighed down by sustained foreign fund outflows, uncertainty over India-U.S. trade negotiations, and fresh global tariff concerns.
At the close of trading, the Sensex dropped 605 points, or 0.72 percent, to end at 83,576, while the Nifty declined 193.5 points, or 0.75 percent, to settle at 25,683.
Investor sentiment remained cautious ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the legality of U.S. tariffs and the release of India’s December inflation data scheduled for Monday.
The benchmark indices slipped to their lowest levels in more than two months, with the Nifty falling below the key psychological level of 25,700. The index opened at 25,840, touched an intraday high of 25,940, and then faced sustained profit booking to hit a low of 25,648 during the session.
Market sentiment was further dampened after U.S. President Donald Trump assented to a sanctions bill that could impose tariffs of up to 500 percent on countries purchasing Russian oil.
ONGC and Bharat Electronics were among the few gainers on the Nifty.
On the sectoral front, Nifty Realty was the worst performer, sliding 2.12 percent. Except for IT, PSU Bank, and Oil and Gas, all other sectoral indices ended in the red. Auto stocks fell 1.11 percent, while FMCG and consumer durables declined 1.17 percent.
Broader markets mirrored the weakness in benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 slipping 0.69 percent and the NSE Smallcap 100 falling 0.79 percent.
Analysts said markets are likely to remain range-bound with a mixed bias despite heightened geopolitical headwinds. They added that domestic GDP growth is expected to stay strong, and third-quarter earnings could show a recovery led by mid-cap stocks, potentially helping stabilize investor sentiment.
Meanwhile, the rupee weakened by 22 paise to close at 90.11 against the U.S. dollar, pressured by falling equity markets and continued selling by foreign institutional investors. (Source: IANS)
