Indian equity markets ended sharply lower on Friday, snapping Thursday's brief recovery as selling pressure intensified across sectors. The BSE Sensex slumped 765.39 points, or 0.95 per cent, to close at 79,857.87, while the NSE Nifty dropped 245.25 points, or 1.00 per cent, to settle at 24,350.90. Broader market sentiment remained subdued amid global uncertainties and a cautious investor mood ahead of key inflation and macroeconomic data releases.

Market breadth remained weak on Friday, with 1,494 stocks advancing, 2,380 declining, and 137 remaining unchanged on the BSE.

On the Nifty 50, major laggards included Adani Enterprises, Bharti Airtel, Shriram Finance, IndusInd Bank, and M&M. On the flip side, top gainers were Titan Company, NTPC, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, HDFC Life, and Bajaj Finserv.

Sectoral performance was uniformly negative, with all indices ending in the red. Notable drags included metal, realty, pharma, auto, private banks, and consumer durables, all declining between 1 per cent and 2 per cent.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index dropped 1.5 per cent, while the Smallcap index slipped 1 per cent, reflecting widespread selling pressure.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) dumped equities worth Rs 4,997.19 crore on Thursday.

"The market continues to be technically and fundamentally weak. The sustained selling by FIIs, along with high valuations, is weighing on the market. Strong domestic institutional buying is providing some support," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

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Previous Trading Session

Indian equity benchmarks ended modestly higher on Thursday, snapping a three-day losing streak amid a cautiously optimistic trading environment. The BSE Sensex gained 79.27 points, or 0.10 per cent, to close at 80,623.26, while the NSE Nifty edged up 21.95 points, or 0.09 per cent, to settle at 24,596.15. Despite lingering concerns over global economic trends and monetary policy uncertainty, late-session buying in select heavyweight stocks provided a lift to the indices.