Sensex Slips 505 Points, Nifty Below 25,000 As Stock Market Ends Week In Red

Investors remained cautious ahead of key earnings announcements and global macroeconomic developments, leading to broad-based selling across sectors

Benchmark equity indices ended the week on a subdued note, with both the Sensex and Nifty closing in the red on Friday amid profit booking and weak global cues. The BSE Sensex fell 505.12 points, or 0.61 per cent, to settle at 81,754.12, while the NSE Nifty slipped 139.00 points, or 0.55 per cent, to close at 24,972.45. Investors remained cautious ahead of key earnings announcements and global macroeconomic developments, leading to broad-based selling across sectors. Market breadth remained weak on Friday, with 1,619 stocks advancing, 2,265 declining, and 153 remaining unchanged on the BSE.

Among the top Nifty laggards were Axis Bank, Shriram Finance, Bharat Electronics, HDFC Life, and Bharti Airtel. On the other hand, Wipro, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, ONGC, and Nestle India emerged as the leading gainers.

Barring media and metal, all sectoral indices ended in the red. Notable pressure was seen in pharma, private banks, PSU banks, FMCG, capital goods, consumer durables, and telecom, each slipping between 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent.

The broader market also saw weakness, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices declining by 0.6 per cent each.

“A broad-based sell-off was observed in the national market amidst a disappointing initial set of earnings from the finance and IT sectors,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

He noted that elevated valuations in large-cap stocks, coupled with significant short positions by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), have heightened investor caution.

Adding to the uncertainty were concerns over India’s trade relations with Russia amid rising tariff tensions. Despite the near-term volatility, Nair remains optimistic about India’s medium- to long-term outlook, supported by low inflation and a conducive monetary policy environment.

Previous Trading Session Recap

On Thursday, Indian stock markets ended lower, weighed down by cautious investor sentiment amid persistent global uncertainties. The BSE Sensex declined by 374.59 points or 0.45 per cent to close at 82,259.89 (indicative), while the NSE Nifty50 slipped 101.80 points or 0.40 per cent, settling at 25,110.25.

The session saw a largely mixed market breadth on the BSE, where 1,931 stocks advanced, 1,942 declined, and 152 remained unchanged. Weakness across key sectors contributed to the overall decline, reflecting the broader mood of caution among investors.