The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Friday closed in the red following an all-round selling pressure. The S&P BSE Sensex dived to a low of 64,733, and ended the day with a loss of 366 points at 64,887. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty 50 hit a low of 19,230, and ended 121 points lower at 19,266.
In the past weeks, the BSE has lost 2.7 per cent or 1,797 points during the period, while the Nifty has shed 2.4 per cent or 479 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, IndusInd, JSW Steel, L&T, UltraCemco, JioFin, PowerGrid emerged prime losers. On the flipside, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Airtel, Titan, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Kotak Bank were the gainers.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index dragged nearly 1 per cent, while the Smallcap index went down by 0.2 per cent.
Sectrowise, all the indices ended in the red, with capital goods, FMCG, PSU Bank, metal, realty, power slumped 1 per cent each.
In the previous session on Thursday, the BSE Sensex settled 181 points lower at 65,252, while the NSE Nifty declined 57 points to close at 19,386.
"Investor caution is evident globally, as concerns about potential rate hikes dominate the prevailing sentiment ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting. Furthermore, the minutes from the RBI MPC meeting reiterated their dedication to managing inflation within the target range, given the elevated domestic inflation levels," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong settled in the negative territory. European markets were trading in the green. The US markets ended lower on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.25 per cent to $84.40 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Thursday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,524.87 crore, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the rupee reversed its three-day rally and depreciated by 13 paise to settle at 82.69 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, tracking strong American currency and negative equity markets. Rising crude oil prices also weighed on the domestic unit even as foreign fund inflows restricted losses, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.60 and touched the intra-day low of 82.72 against the greenback. It finally settled at 82.69 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a fall of 13 paise over its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee appreciated by 16 paise to settle at 82.56 against the US dollar, making it the third straight day of gain.