A wave of selling swept through Indian stock markets on Friday, leading to significant losses in key indices. The Sensex closed 769.67 points lower, down 0.94% at 81,537.70, as Nifty mirrored the slide with a 241.25-point or 0.95% drop to 25,048.65.
Realty stocks led the decline, with Nifty Realty dropping 3.34%. PSU Banks fell 2.27%, Energy 1.92%, India Defence 1.80%, Infra 1.69%, PSE 1.54%, and Commodities 1.38%. The widespread negativity saw most sectoral gauges finish lower.
Among Sensex constituents, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Infosys, Asian Paints, TCS, Titan, and UltraTech Cement bucked the trend as gainers. Major losers included IndiGo, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, BEL, SBI, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Trent, L&T, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, and M&M.
The downturn wasn’t confined to blue-chips; Nifty Midcap 100 declined 1.80% (1,045.65 points) to 57,145.65, and Nifty Smallcap 100 shed 1.95% (324.50 points) to 16,352.75.
Experts note that despite favorable global trends and solid PMI numbers, the rupee’s unprecedented weakness against the dollar and ongoing FII disposals soured moods. Investor confidence is shaky.
Key watchers now include Fed policy on rates and India’s Budget announcements. Trading began positively with global support, Sensex up 28 points to 82,335 and Nifty up 55 to 25,344, before reversing course.