MUMBAI — Indian equity benchmarks ended sharply lower Friday after a volatile session, as uncertainty over a possible U.S.-Iran understanding triggered heavy selling in the final hour of trading.
The Sensex closed at 74,775.74, down 1,092.06 points, or 1.44%. The Nifty settled at 23,547.75, down 359.40 points, or 1.50%.
The Nifty swung sharply during the session, touching an intraday high of 24,002.80 before falling to a low of 23,484.75. The Sensex rose as high as 76,220.02 during the day before dropping to an intraday low of 74,589.11 as late selling intensified.
Analysts said a sustained break below the 23,500 level on the Nifty could weaken the near-term structure and increase downside pressure toward the 23,300-to-23,200 range if selling continues.
“On the upside, the 23,750–23,800 zone is now expected to act as an immediate resistance band, followed by stronger resistance near the 24,000 level,” an analyst said.
Broader markets also ended lower. The Nifty MidCap 100 index fell 1.33%, while the Nifty SmallCap index slipped 0.85%.
Heavyweight stocks dragged the indices lower. Reliance Industries fell more than 2.18%, while ITC declined 1.71%, offsetting gains in technology shares.
IT stocks were more resilient, with the Nifty IT index gaining more than 0.60%. Investors continued to favor technology counters after an overnight rally in U.S. tech stocks and weakness in the Indian rupee, which could help margins for export-oriented IT companies.
Analysts said the session underscored the fragile nature of market sentiment near higher resistance levels.
“The market witnessed broad-based selling pressure following the IMDs monsoon forecasts to 90 per cent of the long period average (LPA), raising concerns among investors,” an analyst said. (Source: IANS)
