Heavy selling swept through Indian bourses on Friday, pushing the Sensex 961.42 points or 1.17% lower to 81,287.19 and the Nifty 317.90 points or 1.25% down to 25,178.65. This marked the end of a choppy trading week dominated by bearish sentiment.
Realty stocks cratered 2.26% on Nifty, autos followed at 1.86% loss. Broader weakness hit FMCG (1.69%), metals (1.67%), financials (1.55%), pharma (1.50%), consumption (1.48%), and healthcare (1.41%).
Defensive plays in IT rose 0.16%, consumer durables 0.17%, and media 0.60%. Midcaps slid 1.14% with Nifty Midcap 100 at 59,115.60; smallcaps lost 1.10% to 16,928.90.
Among Sensex constituents, HCL Tech, Trent, Infosys, and Eternal bucked the trend as winners. Losers were led by Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, Indigo, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, UltraTech Cement, HUL, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Tata Steel, ITC, and HDFC Bank.
FIIs dumped Rs 3,465.99 crore in equities Thursday, amplifying the rout. Geopolitical risks from absent Iran-US deal drove oil higher: WTI +1.63% at $66.25, Brent +1.38% at $71.86. Rupee’s slide versus USD and soft global signals sealed the day’s negativity. Analysts urge vigilance amid rising uncertainties.