Mumbai, February 27 Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell by over 1% on Friday due to fresh outflows of foreign funds and subdued global trends amid rising geopolitical risks.
The lack of progress in US-Iran nuclear talks has intensified concerns about further escalation of tensions in the Middle East, experts said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 961.42 points or 1.17%, closing at 81,287.19. During the day, it dropped by 1,089.46 points or 1.32% to 81,159.15.
The 50-share NSE Nifty fell by 317.90 points or 1.25%, closing at 25,178.65.
From the Sensex pack, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, InterGlobe Aviation, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Maruti were among the major decliners.
HCL Tech, Trent, Infosys, and Eternal were the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,465.99 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 5,031.57 crore.
"Indian markets continued to consolidate amid weak global cues and rising geopolitical risks, with investor sentiment turning increasingly cautious. The lack of progress in US-Iran nuclear talks has intensified concerns about further escalation of tensions in the Middle East, while persistent uncertainty related to AI is also supporting safe-haven flows," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi fell by 1%. Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended in positive territory.
Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note.
The US market ended mostly lower on Thursday.
"Weak global cues and rising geopolitical uncertainty following inconclusive US-Iran talks weighed on investor confidence, triggering broad-based profit-booking across auto, FMCG, and pharma stocks after recent gains. The absence of fresh domestic triggers further accelerated the downside momentum, especially during the final hour of trading," Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said.
Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped by 1.26% to USD 71.64 per barrel.
On Thursday, the Sensex dipped marginally by 27.46 points, or 0.03%, to close at 82,248.61. The Nifty eked out a marginal gain of 14.05 points or 0.06% to end at 25,496.55.