Indian Equity Markets See Losses Amid Pre-Budget Caution and Metal Stock Weakness

The Indian equity markets experienced losses on Friday as investors engaged in profit booking ahead of the Union Budget 2026 on February 1 and faced weakness in metal stocks. The Sensex closed down by 269 points, or 0.36%, settling at 82,269, while the Nifty dropped 98 points, or 0.39%, to end at 25,320.
In a divergence, the broader markets displayed mixed results, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index decreasing by 0.17% and the NSE Smallcap 100 index increasing by 0.32%.
Across sectors, the indices showed varied performance, with the Nifty Metal sector witnessing the most significant decline of 5.34%, while IT sector eased by 1.02%. On the other hand, Nifty Media rose by 2.07%, consumer durables gained 1.09%, and Nifty FMCG was up by 1.41%.
Analysts attributed the lag in the IT sector to global growth concerns and higher US bond yields, impacting market sentiment.