Benchmark equity indices, the Sensex and Nifty, fell over 1 per cent on Friday, driven by weak global market trends and fresh foreign fund outflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined for the third consecutive day, dropping 1,017.23 points or 1.24 per cent to close at 81,183.93. At one point, it had fallen 1,219.23 points or 1.48 per cent to 80,981.93. The NSE Nifty also fell for the third day in a row, sliding 292.95 points or 1.17 per cent to end at 24,852.15.
Among the Sensex constituents, State Bank of India led the losses with a drop of over 4 per cent. Other major decliners included NTPC, ICICI Bank, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, and ITC. In contrast, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, JSW Steel, and Maruti were among the gainers.
Asian markets, including Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, closed lower. European markets also traded in negative territory, and US markets ended mostly in the red on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 688.69 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.14 per cent to USD 72.79 a barrel.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, noted, “The near-term trend in the market will be influenced by the US jobs data to be published tonight.”
On Thursday, the BSE Sensex had failed to maintain initial gains, falling 151.48 points or 0.18 per cent to close at 82,201.16. The NSE Nifty also dropped 53.60 points or 0.21 per cent to 25,145.10, despite a positive start to the day.
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