The benchmark BSE Sensex lost 241.30 points or 0.31% to close at 77,378.91, while the broader Nifty 50 index closed at 23,431.50, lower by 95.00 points or 0.4%.
Sector Watch
Financial stocks were the heaviest drags on the benchmarks, with the Nifty Financial Services index falling 1.3%. The Nifty Bank and Nifty PSU Bank indices also declined, losing 1.6% and 2.7%, respectively.
Nifty 50 heavyweights, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries slipped 0.7% each, significantly contributing to the benchmarks’ losses. ICICI Bank ended the session 0.9% lower.
Among individual stocks, private lender IndusInd Bank dropped 4.4%, making it the biggest loser in the banking index. The decline followed brokerage firm Goldman Sachs’ decision to downgrade the stock from “buy” to “neutral,” citing earnings pressure stemming from rising defaults in its commercial retail portfolio.
In the FMCG space, Adani Wilmar plummeted 10% after the Adani Group announced the sale of its stake in the company to the public at a 15% discount to Thursday’s closing price.On a sectoral level, all indices closed in the red, except for IT. The IT index emerged as the sole gainer, rising 3.4%. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest IT company, led the charge with a 5.6% gain — the highest on the Nifty 50. TCS in its third quarter update expressed optimism about a recovery in client confidence and discretionary spending in North America, its key market, under the Donald Trump administration.
Expert Take
The Indian market continued its downward trajectory as rupee scaling new lows due to strengthening dollar has further dampened investors’ sentiment, said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities.
“Amid concerns of subdued economic growth and expectations of a slowdown in the quarterly earnings, investors cut their bet on banking and mid & small cap stocks. With expensive valuations of Indian markets at large still a concern, investors would mostly resort to stock specific activities,” Tapse added.
“Despite the IT sector’s resilience following positive early Q3 results, broader indices bled due to uncertainties surrounding Trump policies and high valuations. Consolidation may persist in the near term, yet investors are closely watching the US non-farm payroll data today for further guidance,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
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