Mumbai’s bustling stock market closed deep in the red on Friday, marking a sharp downturn that wiped out significant gains. The benchmark Sensex plummeted by 1,048.16 points, or 1.25%, settling at 82,626.76, while the Nifty 50 shed 336.10 points, or 1.30%, to end at 25,471.10. This steep decline came amid widespread selling pressure across sectors, painting a grim picture for investors.
Metal stocks spearheaded the rout, with the Nifty Metal index dropping 3.31% and Nifty Commodities falling 2.24%, emerging as the top losers. The carnage didn’t spare other segments either: Nifty Realty tumbled 2.23%, Nifty Energy 2.04%, Nifty FMCG 1.90%, Nifty Oil & Gas 1.88%, Nifty PSE 1.68%, and Nifty Consumption 1.63%. Heavyweights like HUL, Eternal, Tata Steel, Titan, TCS, Power Grid, BEL, Asian Paints, M&M, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, NTPC, Infosys, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, and Indigo all closed lower, dragging the indices down.
Only a handful of stocks bucked the trend, with Bajaj Finance and SBI managing to end in green amid the sea of red. The sell-off extended beyond large-caps, hitting midcaps and smallcaps hard. Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 1,032.85 points or 1.71% to 59,438, and Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 311.20 points or 1.79% to 17,032.90.
Market analysts pointed to weak cues from US markets as the trigger for the Nifty’s weak opening. Rupak De from LKP Securities noted that the index closed with a substantial loss, with India VIX surging past its 200-day moving average, signaling rising fear among participants. ‘Support for Nifty lies around 25,500; a break below could see it testing 25,000. Resistance is near 25,800,’ he cautioned.
Adding to the woes, crude oil prices climbed higher, with Brent crude up 0.55% at $68 per barrel and WTI crude rising 0.5% to $63 per ounce as of report time. Investors now brace for volatility, watching global cues and domestic factors closely in the coming sessions. This downturn underscores the market’s vulnerability to external shocks and sector-specific pressures.