MUMBAI, India — Indian equity markets ended sharply lower on Friday, reversing early gains as sustained selling by foreign institutional investors weighed heavily on investor sentiment.
The benchmark Sensex fell 769 points, or 0.94 percent, to close at 81,537, while the Nifty declined 241 points, or 0.95 percent, to settle at 25,048.
Broader markets underperformed the frontline indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index dropping 1.95 percent and the NSE Smallcap 100 sliding 2.06 percent.
Both the Sensex and Nifty opened the final trading session of the week slightly higher, tracking supportive global cues after geopolitical tensions surrounding Greenland eased. However, the early optimism faded as strong foreign fund outflows and mixed corporate earnings prompted investors to turn cautious.
All sectoral indices ended in negative territory. Realty stocks led the decline, with the Nifty Realty index tumbling 3.42 percent. Nifty Media fell 2.79 percent, while Nifty PSU Bank declined 2.43 percent. The Nifty Auto index eased 1.25 percent and Nifty Oil and Gas slipped 1.30 percent.
Market analysts said Indian equities slipped into sell-off mode despite positive global market trends and supportive domestic purchasing managers’ index data. Sentiment was dampened by rising crude oil prices, a sharp depreciation of the rupee, continued foreign institutional investor selling, and corporate earnings that fell slightly short of expectations amid premium valuations for Indian stocks.
Looking ahead, analysts expect market sentiment to remain cautious as investors await the upcoming Union Budget and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
Market participants also noted that even if some companies report better-than-expected results for the third quarter of FY26, any upside is likely to be limited to stock-specific moves, as foreign institutional selling is expected to persist in the near term.
Meanwhile, the rupee weakened sharply, slipping 41 paise to an intraday low of 91.99 against the U.S. dollar on Friday amid continued foreign fund outflows.
Analysts said intervention by the central bank has helped contain volatility to some extent but has not been sufficient to reverse the broader downward trend in the domestic currency. (Source: IANS)
