The benchmark indices fell 1.5% on Friday, marking their fifth consecutive day of decline in line with global peers and worst weekly loss since June 2022, as foreign investors shifted to safe-haven dollar assets.
The Sensex lost 1,176.46 points or 1.49% to close at 78,041.59, while the NSE Nifty declined 364.20 points or 1.52% to 23,587.50. The Nifty falls below its 200-day moving average for the first time in a month.
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While the Sensex plunged 4,091.53 points or 4.98% in the week, the Nifty slumped 1,180.80 points or 4.77%. The sell-off comes after four consecutive weeks of positive returns.
On Friday, broader markets saw a heightened selling pressure, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices falling 2.43% and 2.11%, respectively, compared to the benchmarks’ 1.5% decline. On a weekly basis, however, the broader indices posted smaller losses of around 3.2% each.
“Nervousness continued to grip investors, leading to a broad-based selling, as the dollar’s ongoing strength against the rupee prompted foreign investors to exit local equities and seek safety in dollar assets,” said Prashanth Tapse, senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities.
Investor sentiment was also dampened by concerns over Donald Trump’s trade policies, as his aggressive stance could potentially disrupt global markets when he assumes office in mid-January next year, Tapse added.
Barring healthcare, which gained 0.10%, all sectoral indices ended the week in the red. Power, metal, utilities, capital goods and PSU banks fell more than 6% each, while the Bank Nifty dropped 2,825 points or 5.27%.
Among individual stocks, all 30 Sensex constituents posted negative returns for the week. Out of the 50 Nifty stocks, only Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (up 7.81%) and Cipla (up 1.71%) managed to stay in positive territory.
Top losers include Shriram Finance, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Bharat Electronics, Grasim Industries and Adani Enterprises with a fall of over 7%.
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Broad-based selling wiped out Rs 18.43 lakh crore of investor wealth during the week, with half of the losses occurring on Friday.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 3,598 crore on Friday and Rs 7,510 crore over the week.
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