Domestic equity markets witnessed a sharp sell-off in the final hour of trading on Friday, with benchmark indices ending significantly lower amid concerns over weak monsoon forecasts, MSCI rebalancing and rising geopolitical uncertainty linked to West Asia.
The NSE Nifty 50 plunged 359 points, or 1.5 per cent, to settle at 23,547, while the BSE Sensex dropped 1,092 points to close at 74,775.
Broad-based selling pressure was visible across sectors, with Oil & Gas, Metal and Auto stocks emerging among the biggest losers, each declining nearly 2 per cent. The IT sector stood out as the lone major gainer, rising 0.6 per cent.
The weakness in Indian equities contrasted sharply with the positive momentum seen overnight on Wall Street, where all three major US indices closed at record highs, driven largely by gains in technology stocks. The S&P 500 advanced 0.58 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.91 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also edged 0.05 per cent higher.
Across Asia-Pacific markets, sentiment remained largely positive despite ongoing Middle East tensions. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.53 per cent, while South Korea’s KOSPI surged over 3 per cent to hit a fresh intraday high before trimming gains slightly.
On the commodities front, Brent crude traded at USD 91.23 per barrel, down 1.58 per cent, while gold prices rose 0.77 per cent to USD 4,530.07.
Market breadth remained decisively negative at the close, with 364 stocks from the Nifty 500 universe ending in the red, underlining the broad extent of Friday’s sell-off.
