Indian equity markets experienced a sharp decline on Friday, reversing a brief rally, as investors reacted to escalating crude oil prices, ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia, and continued foreign fund outflows.
Weak cues from US markets and subdued trading in Asia further dampened investor sentiment.
By 3:10 pm, the Sensex fell 1,077.10 points, or 1.35%, to 78,938.80, while the Nifty 50 dropped 309.15 points, or 1.25%, to 24,456.75. Market breadth was negative, with 1,682 shares advancing, 2,171 declining, and 152 remaining unchanged.
Among Nifty sectoral indices, IT, metals, and consumer durables bucked the downtrend, while most others traded in the red. The broader market displayed some resilience, with the Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 ending in positive territory.
Major losers in the Nifty50 included ICICI Bank, Max Healthcare Institute, and Bajaj Finserv, which fell up to 2%, while Reliance Industries and HCL Technologies led the gainers, rising as much as 2.5%.
