Indian stock markets fall for third straight session

At the end of the trading today, the Sensex was down 270.92 points or 0.34 per cent at 79,809.65, and the Nifty 50 at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) settled at 24,426.85, down 4.05 points or 0.30 per cent.

"The ongoing decline appears to be more sentiment-driven in the absence of fresh positive triggers. Notably, the Nifty is now approaching a critical support zone at 24,250-24,350," said Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

"Investor sentiment remained cautious as markets attempted to digest the full impact of the US tariff. The persistence of this issue is likely to heighten the future competitiveness of India's exports in some areas. While generally the pressure is also likely to weigh on INR, driving it to depreciation," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

Osho Krishan, Sr. Analyst - Technical & Derivatives, Angel One, said that throughout this period, a prevailing bearish sentiment was clearly discernible as selling pressure dominated market activity, leading to widespread declines across various sectors.

"The lack of recovery was indicative of broader economic concerns that were impacting the market undertone," he added.

"The positive momentum from last week, driven by S&P Global Ratings upgrading India's sovereign outlook and PM Narendra Modi's announcement of next-generation GST reforms, was offset by US President Donald Trump's decision to impose an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, which weighed heavily on market sentiment," said Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical Research and Derivatives at SBI Securities.

Within the Nifty pack, ITC and Shriram Finance were the top gainers. Sector-wise, Nifty FMCG and Media indices managed to end in positive territory, whereas Nifty Auto and Nifty IT led the losers.

The selling pressure was visible in the broader market indices as well. Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 closed 0.57% and 0.39% lower, respectively, on Friday. Market breadth deteriorated, with the advance-decline ratio heavily skewed in favour of declines--out of the Nifty 500 universe, 336 stocks ended in the red, reflecting broad-based selling.

The Bank Nifty index slipped sharply this week, losing 1,494 points to close at 53,656, down 2.71 per cent.

As per the experts, the decline was led by persistent weakness in heavyweight banking stocks. On the daily chart, the Index has formed a candle with a high upper shadow on Friday, indicating strong selling pressure from higher levels, Shah added in a note.(ANI)