Key Takeaways
- Benchmark Slump: The Sensex shed over 1,040 points, while the Nifty 50 closed below the critical 25,500 level.
- Sectoral Laggards: Metal, Realty, and Energy sectors faced the heaviest selling pressure.
- Market Sentiment: The India VIX surged, signaling heightened volatility and investor anxiety.
- Global Cues: Weakness in US markets and rising crude oil prices weighed heavily on domestic sentiment.
The Indian equity markets faced a grueling session on Friday, with the BSE Sensex closing at 82,626.76, a decline of 1,048.16 points, or 1.25 percent. Simultaneously, the NSE Nifty 50 plummeted 336.10 points, or 1.30 percent, to end the day at 25,471.10.
The downturn was characterized by broad-based selling, sparing very few sectors. The Nifty Metal index was the primary outlier on the downside, crashing 3.31 percent. Other sectors followed suit, with Nifty Realty falling 2.23 percent and Nifty Commodities dropping 2.24 percent. The FMCG, Oil & Gas, and Energy indices also recorded losses ranging from 1.6 percent to 2 percent.
Stock Performance: Gainers and Losers
The Sensex pack was dominated by bears. Major heavyweights, including HUL, Tata Steel, TCS, HDFC Bank, and Infosys, ended the session in negative territory. Even the previously resilient IT sector saw its index fall by 1.8 percent during early trade.
- Top Losers: Notable declines were seen in Power Grid, BEL, Asian Paints, M&M, and ICICI Bank.
- Top Gainers: In a rare show of strength, Bajaj Finance and SBI were the only stocks in the Sensex pack to finish the day in the green.
The carnage extended to broader markets as well. The Nifty Midcap 100 tumbled 1,032.85 points, or 1.71 percent, to 59,438, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 retreated 1.79 percent to close at 17,032.90.
Technical Analysis and Global Factors
Market analysts pointed toward weak global cues, particularly from the US, as the primary catalyst for the morning’s gap-down opening. Rupak Dey, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, noted that the India VIX, a gauge of market volatility, has once again crossed its 200-day moving average (DMA). This crossover typically indicates growing fear among participants.
“Support for the Nifty currently stands around the 25,500 mark,” Dey observed. “If this level is decisively broken, we could see the index testing 25,000. On the upside, 25,800 remains a significant resistance level.”
External pressures were further compounded by rising energy costs. At the time of the market close, Brent Crude was trading 0.55 percent higher at $68 per barrel, while WTI Crude rose 0.5 percent to $63 per barrel.
Institutional Activity
Despite the local sell-off, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net buyers for the fourth consecutive session, purchasing approximately ₹944 crore in the cash market. When including index and stock futures, their net total reached roughly ₹429 crore. Conversely, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) turned net sellers after two days of buying, offloading shares worth approximately ₹125 crore.
