Mumbai, February 13 The benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, fell by more than 1% on Friday due to a broad sell-off, particularly in metal, IT, and commodity stocks, reflecting sluggish global markets.
In a volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 1,048.16 points, or 1.25%, to close at 82,626.76. During the day, the benchmark fell by 1,140.37 points, or 1.36%, hitting an intraday low of 82,534.55.
The 50-share NSE Nifty plunged by 336.10 points, or 1.30%, to settle at 25,471.10. In intraday trading, it fell by 362.9 points, or 1.4%, hitting a low of 25,444.30.
Among the Sensex constituents, Hindustan Unilever, Eternal, Titan, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, PowerGrid, Reliance Industries, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, and HCL Technologies were the major decliners.
On the other hand, Bajaj Finance and State Bank of India were the only gainers.
"Domestic equities ended lower following a highly volatile session, weighed down by weak global cues ahead of the upcoming US inflation data.
"Sentiment gains from the US-India trade deal have faded as renewed concerns about disruption driven by AI weigh on risk appetite, with markets worried that Indian IT firms dependent on the labor arbitrage model may face tougher competitive pressure than their Nasdaq peers," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
This cautious tone extended across the broader market, pulling all major indices into negative territory, with most sectors closing in the red, he added.
"Metal stocks saw profit-booking amid a stronger dollar index, as reports of Russia's return to the US-dollar settlement system heightened expectations of potential sanctions relief and raised concerns over weaker realisations for metal companies," Nair said.
In Asian markets, the Hong Kong Hang Seng benchmark, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, and South Korea's Kospi ended in the negative territory.
European markets are trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals. The US equities market ended up to 2% lower on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 108.42 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors were also net buyers of stocks worth Rs 276.85 crore, according to exchange data.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.32% to USD 67.81 per barrel.
On Thursday, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 558.72 points to settle at 83,674.92. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 146.65 points to end at 25,807.20.
