Stock Market Today: Sensex Falls 250 Points, Nifty Hover Around 25,000

On Thursday, after a volatile start, bulls staged a strong comeback, pushing the Nifty above the 25,000 mark for the first time since October 2024, ending a 141-session wait

Among sectors, Nifty Energy and Consumer Durables led the gains, rising 0.65 per cent and 0.55 per cent, respectively

Source : PTI

Indian benchmark indices, Nifty and Sensex, took a breather on Friday, ending their two-day winning streak as investors booked profits following Thursday’s sharp rally. Despite the pause in frontline indices, momentum remained strong in the broader market, with mid- and small-cap indices extending gains for a fifth straight session, once again outshining their larger counterparts.

As of 9:45 AM, the Sensex was down 267.33 points or 0.32 per cent at 82,263.41, while the Nifty slipped 66.40 points or 0.26 per cent to 24,995.70. Market breadth remained positive, with 2,128 stocks advancing, 854 declining, and 130 remaining unchanged.

On Thursday, after a volatile start, bulls staged a strong comeback, pushing the Nifty above the 25,000 mark for the first time since October 2024, ending a 141-session wait. Investor sentiment was further lifted by a statement from U.S. President Donald Trump in Doha, claiming that India had offered a zero-tariff trade deal to the United States.

Sectorial Update

Among sectors, Nifty Energy and Consumer Durables led the gains, rising 0.65 per cent and 0.55 per cent, respectively. Realty, Oil & Gas, Metal, Auto, and PSU Bank indices also opened with modest gains. On the downside, Nifty IT declined 0.31 per cent, Pharma fell 0.29 per cent, and Banking indices slipped by about 0.2 per cent each. The India VIX, which measures market volatility, eased 2 per cent to 16.5.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, noted, "When aggressive market activity happens against the near consensus view, the market movement can be sharp. Yesterday’s 550-point spike in Nifty from the lows was a classic case of such unexpected contrarian trend. The near consensus view was that FIIs will slowdown purchases in India and might even turn sellers preferring the cheaper Chinese stocks in view of the emerging US-China trade deal. This explains the sharp rise in cash holdings of the mutual funds and DIIs turning sellers. But the FII’s aggressive contrarian move against the prevailing consensus by buying stocks for Rs 5393 crores surprised the majority of market participants. The consequent short covering in largecaps must have contributed to the sharp 550-point Nifty rally from the lows yesterday. The momentum now clearly favours largecaps. If the FIIs continue with their buy India strategy the market can further surprise on the upside. But the valuations will get stretched eroding the fundamental support to the market."