India’s equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, fell nearly 1% on Friday, marking their fifth consecutive session of losses as FMCG, auto, and energy stocks took a hit amid escalating tensions in West Asia and continued foreign capital outflows.
The BSE Sensex dropped 808.65 points, or 0.98%, closing at 81,688.45 after swinging between a high of 83,368.32 and a low of 81,532.68, a fluctuation of over 1,835 points. Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell 235.50 points, or 0.93%, to 25,014.60, with an intraday low of 24,966.80 and a high of 25,485.05.
Among the worst performers were Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Nestle, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, and HDFC Bank. On the upside, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, TCS, and State Bank of India saw gains.
A sharp rise in global crude prices, driven by geopolitical tensions and supply uncertainties, added pressure on the market, traders said.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold off Indian equities worth ₹15,243 crore on Thursday, following three days of heavy selling totalling ₹30,614 crore. Analysts attribute this trend to FIIs shifting investments from India to cheaper Hong Kong markets, where expectations of Chinese economic recovery and government stimulus measures are driving investor optimism.
Asian markets closed mixed, with Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong rising, while mainland Chinese markets remained closed for a holiday. European markets were trading higher, but US markets ended lower on Thursday.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.99% to $78.39 per barrel.
On Thursday, the Sensex plunged by 1,769.19 points, or 2.10%, to close at 82,497.10, while the Nifty slumped 546.80 points, or 2.12%, to 25,250.10, reflecting the mounting pressure on Indian equities amid global economic uncertainty.
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