It was another bruising week for Indian stock markets as investors saw mounting pressure across key sectors, with indices sliding sharply on Friday. Both the Nifty and the Sensex closed lower for the second consecutive session, reinforcing the current bearish sentiment across Dalal Street.
The Sensex plunged more than 700 points to end at 81460, down nearly 0.88 percent. The Nifty 50 also dropped over 200 points to close just above the 24800 mark. These levels marked fresh one-month lows for the benchmark indices and contributed to a cumulative decline in investor wealth through the week.
One of the hardest hit sectors on Friday was banking. The Nifty Bank index fell nearly 530 points to close at 56500, indicating significant weakness in financial counters. The pain was equally visible in broader market indices. The BSE Midcap index shed 680 points, closing nearly 1.5 percent lower, while the BSE Smallcap index declined by a staggering 1000 points to settle at 53900. The sell-off reflected widespread caution and nervousness among investors.
Market breadth remained extremely weak. Out of the 3025 stocks traded on Friday, only 588 managed to post gains while over 2350 stocks declined. A handful of stocks hit new 52-week highs, but many others sank to fresh lows. This persistent weakness suggests a lack of buying momentum and growing concern among investors about near-term growth prospects.
Sectorally, nearly every major index closed in the red. BSE Realty, BSE IT, BSE Energy, and BSE FMCG all ended the week lower. Analysts cited global uncertainty, earnings disappointment from key players, and persistent foreign institutional investor selling as the primary drivers of the market downturn.
According to Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, Indian markets have been underperforming their global peers for most of this week. He noted that the sell-off across sectors reflects deeper caution, with high valuation concerns in some segments adding to the nervousness.
Among the worst performers in Friday’s trade was Bajaj Finance, which saw its stock fall nearly 5 percent. Other significant losers included Shriram Finance, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Auto, and Tech Mahindra. The decline in these major financial and auto counters added heavy pressure to the broader indices.
On the other hand, a few stocks managed to hold firm. Cipla led the gainers list in the Nifty 50, ending the day with a gain of over 3 percent. It was followed by SBI Life Insurance, Apollo Hospitals, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, and Sun Pharma. These select healthcare and insurance stocks helped cushion some of the losses for the indices.
From a group perspective, the Jaypee Group saw the steepest erosion in market capitalisation, falling over 4.6 percent. The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group was also hit hard following enforcement action and raids on its Mumbai properties. Within that group, stocks such as Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power were locked in their respective lower circuits. The Essel Group too lost significant value in Friday’s session.
The week’s market performance reflects a fragile investor sentiment clouded by mixed earnings, global volatility, and mounting pressure from foreign investors reducing their holdings in Indian equities. Analysts expect continued volatility in the days ahead and recommend that retail investors tread cautiously, focus on quality stocks, and maintain a long-term outlook.
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