continued their downfall in afternoon trade on Friday, reversing the previous session’s brief recovery as persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and continued foreign fund outflows dampened investor sentiment.
fell about 670 points from the previous close, while the slipped 191 points during the session, with selling pressure visible across most sectors. At 1.05 pm, Sensex slumped 608.15 points or 0.76 per cent to 79,407.75, and Nifty 50 depreciated 161.55 points or 0.65 per cent to 24,604.35.
The broader market, however, showed a mixed trend with the smallcap index displaying resilience even as the midcap index edged lower.
Banking and financial stocks were among the biggest drags on the market, with the sector declining 1–2 per cent. Realty stocks also remained under pressure alongside financials.
Despite the broader weakness, a few sectoral pockets traded in positive territory. Indices tracking chemicals, IT, oil and gas, and pharmaceuticals registered modest gains as investors selectively moved into defensive and export-oriented sectors. IT index staged a rebound in today’s session f
Top gainers of Nifty 50
Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Bharat Electronics, Reliance Industries, NTPC, ONGC and Grasim Industries emerged as the top gainers during the session. On the other hand, Max Healthcare, Eternal, ICICI Bank, InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) and Larsen & Toubro were among the major laggards, contributing to the benchmark indices’ decline. Reliance has continued its gaining momentum from yesterday.
Market breadth remained slightly negative during the session. Out of 3,155 stocks traded on the National Stock Exchange at the time of writing, 1,462 advanced while 1,598 declined and 95 remained unchanged, indicating broader selling pressure in the market.
The number of stocks hitting fresh 52-week lows stood at 135, higher than the 26 stocks that touched 52-week highs. Meanwhile, 67 stocks were locked in the upper circuit, whereas 48 stocks hit the lower circuit during the day.
Midcap & smallcap movers today
In the midcap segment, defence and infrastructure-linked stocks attracted buying interest. Bharat Dynamics, RVNL, Cochin Shipyard, Persistent Systems and SRF rallied between 3 per cent and 6 per cent during the day. However, losses were seen in several other midcap counters including Godrej Properties, PB Fintech, Vishal Mega Mart, Ashok Leyland and Prestige Estates, which fell by up to 4 per cent.
Smallcap stocks largely outperformed the broader market with several counters witnessing strong gains. Shares of JWL, Ircon International, Data Patterns, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) and Aegis Vopak Logistics surged between 5 per cent and 15 per cent.
On the downside in the smallcap space, Mahanagar Gas (MGL), Signature Global, Tejas Networks and Cholamandalam Financial Holdings declined between 2 per cent and 3.5 per cent.
Market participants remained cautious amid global uncertainty and continued monitoring geopolitical developments and foreign fund flows for near-term direction.