MUMBAI– Indian equity markets ended the week on a weak note Friday, closing sharply lower as widespread selling dragged down benchmark indices across sectors. The BSE Sensex fell 721.08 points, or 0.88%, to settle at 81,463.09, while the NSE Nifty dropped 225.10 points, or 0.90%, ending the session at 24,837.00.
Despite early hopes that progress on the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) might spark a rally, the markets opened in negative territory and quickly lost further ground. The Sensex hit an intraday low of 81,397.69, shedding more than 950 points at one point.
“The broader market sentiment remained firmly bearish throughout the session,” said Ashika Institutional Equities in a market note, citing notable weakness in key sectors such as Media, Energy, Oil & Gas, PSU Banks, Auto, and IT. “Sectoral headwinds and the breach of key index support levels signal that caution may dominate the near-term outlook.”
Among Sensex laggards were Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj FinServ, Infosys, Trent, Tata Motors, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, SBI, Tata Steel, and HCL Tech. Only Sun Pharma and Bharti Airtel managed to close in the green.
The sell-off wasn’t limited to large-cap stocks. The broader market witnessed even steeper declines:
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Nifty 100 dropped 259 points (1%)
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Nifty Midcap 100 sank 951 points (1.61%)
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Nifty Smallcap 100 plunged 392.35 points (2.10%)
Sectorally, the damage was widespread:
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Nifty Bank declined 537 points (0.94%)
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Nifty Financial Services lost 238 points (0.88%)
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Nifty Auto dropped 305 points (1.27%)
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Nifty IT also fell 305 points (1.27%)
The rupee also took a hit, slipping 0.13% to trade below 86.50 against the U.S. dollar, as the greenback strengthened near the 97.68 mark. Analysts attributed the rupee’s weakness to global dollar strength and ongoing profit booking in capital markets.
Looking ahead, investor attention is turning to next week’s U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision. “With mixed expectations and government pressure in the U.S. for a rate cut, market participants are bracing for heightened volatility,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities. He projected that the rupee is likely to remain range-bound between 86.00 and 87.00 in the near term. (Source: IANS)
