The Indian equity markets faced substantial losses on Friday, with the Sensex dropping 769 points to settle at 81,537, a decline of 0.94%. Similarly, the Nifty fell by 241 points, or 0.95%, closing at 25,048. The broader markets saw even greater losses compared to the main indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index down by 1.95% and the NSE Smallcap 100 declining by 2.06%.
Nifty 50 and Sensex started the day on a positive note, following global cues that showed easing geopolitical tensions over Greenland. However, the markets took a sharp downturn later in the day due to significant foreign selling and mixed earnings reports. This led investors to adopt a cautious stance amidst the market volatility.
Across various sectors, all indices ended in the negative territory. Notably, Nifty Realty witnessed the most significant drop, declining by 3.42%. Other sectors such as Nifty Media, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Auto, and Nifty Oil and Gas also experienced declines of 2.79%, 2.43%, 1.25%, and 1.30%, respectively.
Market analysts observed that despite positive global cues and supportive domestic PMI data, Indian equity markets faced a sell-off. Factors contributing to this sentiment included rising crude oil prices, rupee depreciation, foreign institutional selling, and earnings reports falling slightly short of expectations. Looking ahead, market sentiment is expected to remain cautious as investors await the Union Budget and the US Fed’s interest rate decision.
Experts predicted that any positive Q3 FY26 results might trigger stock-specific reactions, as foreign institutional selling is anticipated to persist in the near future. The Indian rupee also saw a decline, dropping 41 paise to 91.99 against the US dollar during intraday trade on Friday, attributed to continuous foreign fund outflows. Despite some intervention by the central bank to manage volatility, the overall trend for the domestic currency remained negative.
