The Indian equity markets started the last trading session of the week in the red on Friday, with Sensex losing 154 points, reaching 82,343, and Nifty dropping 31 points to settle at 25,423. While the Nifty Midcap 100 fell by 0.13%, the Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 0.13%. Sectoral indices mostly traded positively, except for Nifty IT, which was down by 1.07%, and media, which declined by 0.41%.
Pharma and realty sectors saw marginal dips of 0.04% and 0.12%, respectively, while all other indices were in the green. PSU bank emerged as the major gainer, rising by 0.58%. Market watchers indicated that immediate support for Nifty is at the 25,400-25,300 zone, with resistance at 25,675. Bank Nifty’s immediate support is seen in the 60,500 – 60,300 zone, with 61,000 acting as immediate resistance, as per analysts.
The previous session witnessed a sharp 1.41% decline, erasing recent gains and wiping out nearly Rs 6.79 lakh crore in market capitalization. The sell-off was widespread across banking, auto, FMCG, metals, and aviation stocks, reflecting a risk-off sentiment driven by escalating US-Iran geopolitical tensions and a hawkish US Fed outlook, analysts noted. India VIX spiked to 13.46, up over 10%, with sustained FII pressure and DIIs turning net sellers in the previous session.
Despite resilient macro fundamentals, near-term sentiment has turned fragile and risk-averse due to mixed global cues and the absence of immediate positive triggers, market participants highlighted. Market movements are expected to remain range-bound with a downside bias until volatility eases or fresh catalysts offer clearer direction, they predicted.
