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Indian benchmark equity indices ended lower on Friday, extending losses for the fifth consecutive trading session as lingering geopolitical tensions in West Asia and renewed concerns over US trade tariffs kept investor sentiment subdued.
The BSE Sensex closed at 76,059.17, down 331 points or 0.43 per cent, while the Nifty 50 settled at 23,767.70, declining 102 points or 0.43 per cent. According to Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, a SEBI-registered online trading and wealth tech firm, "Indian equity markets extended their losing streak to a fifth consecutive session as investors remained cautious amid lingering geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and renewed concerns over U.S. trade tariffs. Weakness across Asian markets reinforced the risk-off mood, prompting broad-based selling despite signs of easing pressure in energy markets." Sectoral indices on the NSE witnessed a mixed trend during the session. Nifty Auto declined 1.13 per cent, Nifty Metal fell 0.57 per cent, Nifty Realty lost 0.59 per cent, Nifty Oil & Gas slipped 0.43 per cent, Nifty Pharma dropped 0.38 per cent, Nifty Financial Services declined 0.41 per cent, and Nifty Consumer Durables fell 0.15 per cent. Among the gainers, Nifty Media rallied more than 2 per cent, Nifty IT advanced 0.87 per cent, while Nifty FMCG edged up 0.06 per cent. On the Nifty 50 index, the top gainers included HCL Tech, Wipro, Cipla, ITC and Jio Financial, while the top losers were Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Shriram Finance, Tata Consumer and Hindalco. In the commodities market, Brent crude prices declined around 4 per cent to USD 96.73 per barrel at the time of filing this report. In the currency market, the Indian rupee was trading at Rs 96.52 per US dollar at the time of reporting. The rupee remained under pressure after weakening to a fresh two-month low of around Rs 96.67 against the US dollar before recovering modestly to trade near Rs 96.5. Elevated crude oil prices, persistent geopolitical uncertainty and firm demand for the US dollar continued to weigh on the domestic currency. Globally, the conflict between the US and Iran remained a major source of uncertainty for financial markets. Fresh announcements on US tariffs also added to investor caution, resulting in mixed performance across global equity markets. Riyank Arora, Associate Vice President - HNI & Derivatives, Hedged.in said "The sharp recovery from lower levels indicates that buyers are active near key support zones, keeping the broader market structure intact. The technical setup continues to remain bullish, and any short-term dips can be viewed as buying opportunities in quality stocks. Traders may maintain a buy-on-dips approach with disciplined risk management, while a breakout above immediate resistance levels could trigger the next leg of the rally". Among Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 declined more than 3 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.05 per cent, Taiwan's Weighted Index dropped 2.74 per cent, and South Korea's KOSPI declined 6 per cent. Singapore's Straits Times was the only major regional index to end in positive territory, rising 0.12 per cent. (ANI)
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