Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices ended sharply lower on Friday as investors turned cautious. The BSE Sensex fell 961.42 points or 1.17 percent to close at 81,287.19. During the day, it had dropped over 1,089 points.
The NSE Nifty also declined 317.90 points or 1.25 percent to settle at 25,178.65.
This marks a steep fall after a relatively stable session on Thursday.
Why Did Markets Fall?
The main reason behind the fall was weak global cues and rising geopolitical tensions. Concerns have increased after there was no clear progress in the US–Iran nuclear talks. This has raised fears of possible tensions in the Middle East.
Rising geopolitical risks usually make investors nervous. When uncertainty increases, many investors prefer to move money to safer assets instead of equities.
Brent crude oil prices also rose 1.26 percent to USD 71.64 per barrel, adding to market worries.
Foreign Investors Sell
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to sell Indian equities. On Thursday, they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,465.99 crore.
However, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) provided some support by buying stocks worth Rs 5,031.57 crore.
Despite DII buying, the heavy FII selling and global concerns weighed on market sentiment.
Sector-Wise Performance
Among Sensex stocks, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, InterGlobe Aviation, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti were major losers.
On the other hand, HCL Tech, Trent, Infosys and Eternal managed to close in the green.
Experts said there was broad-based profit-booking in auto, FMCG and pharma stocks after recent gains.
Global Markets Mixed
Asian markets showed mixed trends. South Korea’s Kospi fell nearly 1 percent , while Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended higher.
European markets were trading mixed, while the US market had ended mostly lower on Thursday.
With the earnings season coming to an end and no strong domestic trigger, global factors are currently driving Indian markets.
