Equity markets stayed on the back foot for the second day on Friday as fresh geopolitical tensions in West Asia revived concerns over energy supplies and weighed heavily on investor sentiment.
Foreign fund outflows and a weak trend in global markets further added to the bearish trend.
The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 516.33 points, or 0.66 per cent, to settle at 77,328.19. During the session, it tumbled 698.09 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 77,146.43.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 150.50 points, or 0.62 per cent, to end at 24,176.15.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark climbed 414.69 points or 0.53 per cent, and the Nifty went up by 178.6 points or 0.74 per cent.
“Markets remained under pressure on Friday and ended lower amid weak global cues and renewed geopolitical concerns…The decline was primarily driven by a fresh spike in crude oil prices, with Brent crude moving back above the 100 mark amid renewed military exchanges between the US and Iran, dampening hopes of a near-term peace agreement.
“Additionally, continued weakness in the rupee and cautious institutional positioning ahead of the weekend further capped risk appetite. Stock-specific earnings reactions remained mixed, adding to the choppiness in the market,” Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
From the Sensex pack, State Bank of India tanked 6.62 per cent after its March quarter earnings.
HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the laggards.
However, Titan jumped 4.76 per cent after the leading jewellery and watchmaker reported a 35.36 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 1,179 crore for the March quarter of FY26.
Asian Paints, Adani Ports, Infosys and HCL Tech settled in the positive territory.
Brent crude traded around USD 100 per barrel.
“Markets witnessed a risk-off session following fresh US-Iran military action near the Strait of Hormuz, which weakened ceasefire hopes and triggered profit booking. However, stability in crude oil prices around USD 100 per barrel and benign US 10-year yields continue to provide support to the broader sentiment and the rupee,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Though the road ahead is slightly bumpy, optimism around a possible diplomatic resolution persists, he added.
The BSE SmallCap Select index went up by 0.34 per cent, while the MidCap Select index dipped 0.01 per cent.
“Sector-wise, the market showed a mixed trend with a negative bias, as heavy selling was seen in key segments. Banking and financial indices remained under pressure, with Nifty Bank, Financial Services, and PSU Bank declining sharply, indicating weakness in rate-sensitive stocks. Realty and oil & gas also ended in the red, adding to the downside.
“On the positive side, IT and FMCG indices managed to close with modest gains, reflecting some resilience, while selective buying was seen in Healthcare, Consumer Durables, and Midcap segments, offering limited support to the market. Overall, sectoral sentiment remained weak, with losses in financials outweighing gains in defensive and select cyclical sectors,” Gaurav Garg, Lemonn Markets Desk, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi ended marginally higher, while Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index settled lower.
Markets in Europe were trading in negative territory.
US markets ended lower on Thursday.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.25 per cent lower at USD 99.81 per barrel in the futures market.
The rupee depreciated 25 paise to close at 94.47 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 340.89 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
In the previous session, Sensex ended 114 points lower at 77,844.52. The Nifty dipped 4.30 points to end at 24,326.65.
