Markets deepened their losses through midday trade on Friday, with the sliding to 24,160.00, down 166.65 points or 0.69 per cent, and the falling to 77,278.32, a drop of 566.20 points or 0.73 per cent, as of 1.05 pm. The sell-off extended from a weak open, with geopolitical tensions in West Asia and persistent foreign institutional selling keeping buyers on the sidelines.
HDFC Bank was the biggest drag on the Nifty, falling 2.14 per cent to ₹779.00 on heavy volumes of over 1.87 crore shares worth ₹1,46,930.80 lakhs — by far the most traded stock by value on the index. Coal India dropped 2.12 per cent to ₹456.75, Bajaj Finance declined 1.99 per cent to ₹953.40, UltraTech Cement slipped 1.84 per cent to ₹11,922.00 and Axis Bank fell 1.79 per cent to ₹1,269.60, adding to the broad-based pressure in banking and financial stocks.
On the other side, Apollo Hospitals led gainers with a 2.52 per cent rise to ₹8,034.50, touching a session high of ₹8,062.50. Tata Consumer Products gained 2.42 per cent to ₹1,179.60, Asian Paints advanced 2.35 per cent to ₹2,590.10, Adani Ports rose 1.40 per cent to ₹1,757.00 and Infosys added 1.14 per cent to ₹1,175.90 — providing some cushion to an otherwise weak market.
Crude oil remained elevated, with Brent trading above $101 per barrel. On MCX, crude oil futures were in the ₹9,000–₹9,100 zone, recovering from recent lows but still below key trendline resistance. “The near-term bias remains cautious-to-bearish, with direction contingent on evolving disruption concerns in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.
The was holding above ₹94.40 against the dollar, with the USD/INR pair trading in the ₹94.40–₹94.60 range. Continued foreign fund outflows and cautious institutional positioning are limiting any meaningful recovery in the currency, according to Enrich Money.
offered some relative stability. MCX Gold was trading above ₹1,52,000, with analysts noting that a move above ₹1,53,000 could push prices toward ₹1,55,000–₹1,56,000. MCX Silver opened with a gap-up and was trading above ₹2,60,000, with immediate resistance seen at ₹2,64,000–₹2,66,000.
FII outflows continued to weigh on sentiment. Foreign institutional investors had sold a net ₹340.89 crore on Thursday on a cash basis, with month-to-date outflows reaching ₹6,961.75 crore. Domestic institutions remained buyers, having purchased ₹441.07 crore Thursday, though their support has not been enough to offset selling pressure at index heavyweights.
Technically, the 24,100–24,000 zone on the Nifty remains the critical support band for the remainder of the session, while any recovery attempt is likely to face resistance at 24,400–24,500. With the US Nonfarm Payrolls data for April due later in the day, volatility is expected to remain elevated through the afternoon.