Mumbai: For the second consecutive day, the benchmark Sensex fell by nearly 466 points on Friday due to sell-offs in private banks, metal, and power shares, alongside a weak performance in global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 465.75 points or 0.55 percent, closing at 83,938.71, with 25 constituents declining and five advancing. Throughout the day, it experienced a decline of 498.8 points or 0.59 percent, reaching 83,905.66. The 50-share NSE Nifty also decreased, falling by 155.75 points or 0.60 percent to 25,722.10. Analysts noted that foreign fund outflows, mixed corporate earnings, and uncertainty regarding the US Federal Reserve’s future rate decisions were negatively impacting investor sentiment.
Major laggards among Sensex firms included Eternal, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, Trent, and HDFC Bank. Conversely, Bharat Electronics, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, ITC, and State Bank of India saw gains. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, commented that Indian equities closed significantly lower after a volatile session, as investors took profits amid mixed corporate earnings and cautious global sentiment following a strong US dollar. Most sectors ended in the red, affected by renewed selling from foreign institutional investors, who have become more cautious following the hawkish remarks from Fed Chairman Powell and US-China trade developments that did not meet expectations.
The BSE midcap index fell by 0.55 percent, while the smallcap index decreased by 0.40 percent.