MUMBAI, Maharashtra — Indian equity markets ended lower on Friday as widespread selling across sectors dragged both benchmark indices into the red, marking a weak close to the trading week.
The Sensex fell 466.75 points, or 0.55 percent, to finish at 83,938.71, while the Nifty declined 155.75 points, or 0.60 percent, to settle at 25,722.10.
Analysts said that while the bulls have temporarily lost momentum, the broader market structure remains intact as long as Nifty holds above 25,660. “A decisive close below this level could trigger further downside toward 25,400–25,250, whereas a rebound and sustained move above 26,000 will likely reestablish bullish momentum, paving the way for a move toward 26,150–26,300,” they noted.
Losses were broad-based, with most Sensex components ending in negative territory. Only a few heavyweights—such as Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, ITC, and State Bank of India—managed to post modest gains.
Among the major laggards were NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank, which declined sharply, with some counters shedding as much as 3.45 percent.
Weakness also extended to the broader markets, where the Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.45 percent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 dropped 0.48 percent.
On the sectoral front, only Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Oil & Gas ended in positive territory, gaining 1.5 percent and 0.07 percent, respectively. All other indices closed lower, with Nifty Metal and Nifty Media emerging as the worst performers, each falling more than 1 percent.
Market analysts attributed the sell-off to weak global cues and profit-taking ahead of the weekend. “Indian equities ended decisively lower after a volatile session, as investors booked profits amid mixed corporate earnings and cautious global sentiment in the backdrop of a strong greenback,” market watchers said.
They added that renewed foreign institutional investor (FII) selling, coupled with uncertainty following U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish comments and underwhelming U.S.–China trade developments, weighed on investor confidence.
Despite the near-term weakness, analysts expect the “buy-on-dips” strategy to remain favored as optimism persists on a quarter-on-quarter basis. (Source: IANS)
